CURSE THE DARKNESS

Fleet Street gossip columnist Rain Morgan (Wild Justice, Guilty Knowledge, etc.) investigates one author's suicide and another's disappearance--and winds up a hostage in a squatters' house. John Gower, impressed with the big money being paid for Alf Wilson's work after Wilson's ""suicide"" (Rain discovered the body), stages his own version--a sailing mishap. Rain niggles away at inconsistencies, however, and soon realizes that Wilson's research on the homeless caused his murder--not suicide. Meanwhile, Gower's agent is pocketing all his money; Gower's ""widow"" is twinkling on all the talk shows; and the murder of a young child near Gower's hide-out forces him to the streets--and to the path Wilson took and Rain is now tracking. A horrific ending in which the half-crazed Gower, several intimidated squatters, and the captured Rain are threatened by a pair of cop-killers remits in more death--as well as an exposÉ of the marauders who prey on the homeless. Long, and progressively more dour as pseudo-suicide Gower's hold on reality falters. Well-plotted, though, with strong characters and amusing day-at-the-office tidbits.