TIGHTROPE FOR THREE

by Marian Babson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 12, 1989

A change of pace for Babson, often awash in situations more coy than challenging (Cover-Up Story, etc.), as she plots a straight-forward melodrama--complete with a murderer who's escaped from Dartmoor prison, a fog-bound country estate, and a hijacked helicopter. The helicopter has arrived, despite the dense fog, to carry corporate-head Paul Jarvis and his secretary-mistress, Lillian Duxworthy, to an emergency early-morning meeting crucial to his continued control of the business empire. Meanwhile, in a nearby cottage on the estate Jarvis' soon-to-be ex-wife Genevieve tries to cope with their small daughter Sandy's attack of acute appendicitis, despairing that doctor and ambulance can find their way through the pea souper. Predictably, all the principals wind up in the company helicopter, piloted by wily Carson, only to be faced with the armed escapee Slade--who wants out of the country, with no guarantees they won't all be killed once he's reached the shores of France. All the ingredients seem in place for fast-paced adventure, but it doesn't work that way here. Long, introspective flashbacks as Jarvis and Genevieve ponder where they've gone wrong--along with lots of purplish prose and overtones of gothic romance--impede the pace, crispness, and tension that might have been. A good try that doesn't quite make it.

Pub Date: Jan. 12, 1989

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Walker

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1989

Categories: FICTION