HALF A MIND

by Wendy Hornsby ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 27, 1990

A second outing continues the saga of California heiress Kate Teague and her lover, police Lieutenant Roger Tejeda (No Harm, 1987). They now live together in Kate's coastal mansion with his teen-age daughter Theresa--and are visited on college vacations by his son Richie--while Tejeda, on disability, tries to recover from a past head injury. That past, however, refuses to go away; and shortly before Artie Silver, a homosexual serial killer Tejeda had nailed, is due to go to trial, the severed head of a young Marine is found on the beach in front of Kate's mansion--a reminder of the gruesome killings allegedly done by Silver. Is someone trying to prove that Tejeda got the wrong man? It wouldn't be the first time. During the five years since Silver's been jailed, his friend William Tyler tried a copycat murder--and is now awaiting execution. As the trial draws closer, there are more killings, ever closer to Tejeda and his family. Between bouts of amnesia; visits from ex-wife Cassie and son Richie, with roommate Lance in tow; and household preparations for Thanksgiving, Tejeda tries to track the killer. Visits to Silver and Tyler and to the local gay bar help, but it's an unexpected source that finally brings success. A well-written, absorbing story that suffers only from its excesses--too much plot; too many characters; too much domestic detail. Hornsby has obvious talents in need of a tighter rein, but, nonetheless, her new novel will hold the reader to the last page.

Pub Date: March 27, 1990

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: New American Library

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1990

Categories: FICTION