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FATAL FINISH by Martina D'Alton

FATAL FINISH

By

Pub Date: Oct. 1st, 1982
Publisher: Walker

When journalist Frank Gilby falls to his death from an apartment window, daughter Isobel is sure the fall was no accident. And Frank's colleague Harry Lansing (who's running in the N.Y. Marathon at the time of the fall) tends to agree--especially when he finds some mysterious old news clippings in Frank's briefcase. Could Frank's death be linked to a story about the South American off business? And, what's the connection of Frank's longtime friend and neighbor George Stoller, a shady type with a shadowy WW II background (as an ambulance driver)? Well, Harry does some sleuthing, of course--which leads him to powerful Venezuelan Juan de Arias. And since Juan's son Teo also happens to be, like Harry, a Marathon runner, the lackluster denouement surfaces at the Boston Marathon, with a final stretch along Cape Cod shores. Thin characterization, undeveloped plot potential--with the Marathon atmosphere far more vivid than the mystery.