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TAKE THE D TRAIN by Frank King Kirkus Star

TAKE THE D TRAIN

By

Pub Date: Jan. 29th, 1989
Publisher: Dutton

New York's Sally Tepper, a dog-loving, landlord-hating, mostly out-of-work actress, has been evicted from her HeWs Kitchen apartment--the upshot of her neighbor's objections to the five stray dogs who live with her. But landlord Stephen Patrice, a newly declared admirer, finds her a barely livable loft, and they're soon an item, with Sally's misgivings on temporary hold. In fact, Sally is more concerned with the sudden disappearance of a small group of homeless she'd befriended, her anxiety heightened by the news that two of them--Charlie Seven and legless Little Arthur--have met violent deaths in the subway system. Ex-nun Beth White, who runs the West Side League for the Homeless, doesn't know where the others are, so Sally enlists professional thief and old ally Digger (Sleeping Dogs Lie) to try to find Mrs. Toast, Arthur, and Sleepy. Digger does find Mrs. Toast--a strangely calm and docile version of her old volatile self--with the result that he and Sally are led to explore a bizarre underground treasure-trove being exploited by a pair of unlikely candidates. Patrice, meanwhile, has persuaded Sally to accompany him to an important civic bash. Her unexpected encounter there with one of the missing brings on a frantic acceleration of events--one of them nearly fatal to our heroine. Not to worry, though--Sally's forte is survival. King's straightforward style; lively, intricate plotting; and intimate knowledge of New York and its beleaguered denizens make for a one-sitting read that's fast, compelling, and fun.