Alexander Beck, an American general who was his superior officer, is aware that Newman cannot be released from confinement. He arranges with the Volker Institute, a psychiatric facility in Munich, to treat Newman. Newman has an extremely high I.Q. but is morally void. His emotionally deprived childhood and his intensive military training have left him without the usual moral sensitivity.

Various staff members of the Institute try to determine whether Newman is suffering from a mental illness or some other disorder. In spite of the warnings they have received about Newman=s lethal capacity, he appears to be surprising non-hostile. Dr. Patricia Nellwyn is particularly interested in delving into Newman=s psyche. She has a startling theory to explain Newman=s mind. She believes that she has established a trusting relationship with him and that she will receive international recognition from the pioneering paper she intends to publish on his case.

Other staff members at the Institute believe that they too have the key to Newman=s thinking. But one explosive incident will prove them all wrong.

Thrillers are usually plot-driven books with lots of action. The first half of The Gemini Man will have readers wondering whether this is truly a thriller. The multitude of cryptic allusions to Newman's capacity for wide-spread devastation and the focus on the jockeying for position among the Institute staff members make for slow reading. For much of the novel, things revolve around Newman. There is a lot of discussion about what he's capable of, but not much movement.

It is not until Newman finally makes his move that things heat up.

There is enough promise in the opening scenes to keep most readers hanging in through the interminable staff political posturing until the story shifts into high gear. If, however, the thrills in this thriller had occurred earlier in the book, it might have been a more gripping tale.

This is the author=s first book, but the concluding scene suggests the possibility of Newman=s return in a sequel.

--Lesley Dunlap