In Los Angeles a young woman who makes her living as a high priced sexual partner and part time thief decides it was time to leave California and maintain a low profile. And in Wichita, Kansas, a police detective on temporary leave is asked to see if he can track her down. Out of this material James Girard builds a complex and chilling suspense story. One full of haunting characters whose interactions reflect the confused and often heartless state of the human mind.

Floyd Lassiter is a police detective who is becoming increasingly subject to temporal lobe seizures. Because of a recent episode involving an assistant district attorney, he has been temporarily relieved of duty. While he has kept his problem a secret, Floyd knows that it is only a matter of time before he will no longer be able to operate as a police officer, no longer be able to do what he loves. Thus, he is relieved when Loomis, his chief, asks him to see if he can track down Celeste Munro, wanted for theft in California. She is believed to have returned to the Wichita area and the police have been asked to help with the case. With no on duty investigator available, Lassiter is recruited for the task.

Lassiter's investigation uncovers layer after layer of subterfuge. Thin clues lead him back though records and memories to a young prostitute, who changes identities as needed. But Celeste and Lassiter are not the only actors in this drama. Jes Wellington, a professional writer, Zach Vincent, a computer consultant, and Jerry Majors, Floyd's partner all play major parts in this tale along with many others. Even as bits of the truth are gradually uncovered, other mysteries are uncovered as the book evolves from pure detection to psychological thriller.

This is a noir tale, where all of the characters are exposed to events that will either change or destroy them. Lassiter's worst enemy is his own mind. His mental state unravels and fragments as the story progresses. Girard reflects this not just in his portrayal of the detective, but in the very style of the novel itself. The book is a continuous flow of points of view, as narration switches from one character to another, almost at random. The author is capable of gemlike moments of narrative and characterization, but never allows a sense of continuity to develop. As such, the reader often feels imprisoned in Lassiter's mental state - suffering from the same syndrome.

To be honest, I found this wearing. As the book moves along, it becomes clear that there is no central character. This device kept me from becoming as involved as I would like to have been, and left me trying to juggle too many facts and subplots. If one does not have the time and energy to remain focused on the story it is very easy to lose the thread from reading to reading. This is a matter of personal taste and won't bother everyone equally. Girard deserves full credit for an ingenious plot and for writing a story in exactly the style I like least and still managing to keep my attention. While I found it somewhat slow going, others will enjoy the many polished facets of the telling.

--Marc Ruby