From Publishers Weekly
The author of Ghostwright and Saint Peter's Wolf here offers an intriguing, if lightweight modern version of the Faust legend. Architect and designer Stratton Fields, scion of a prominent old San Francisco family, worries about his stalled career and rapidly dwindling wealth. He is about to lose a prestigious commission that could revive his flagging fortunes when he has a strange encounter one night with a mysterious woman; shortly thereafter, his chief competitor for the job inexplicably commits suicide. Fields's career takes off, but escalating violence threatens those closest to him, and he must come to grips with the frightening possibility that he has sold his soul to unseen, uncontrollable powers. Stock characters--the well-dressed, ruthless corporate head, the philanthropic girlfriend, the sympathetic psychiatrist who knows all about the occult--and a melodramatic plot jammed with lurid family secrets give this suspense novel the feel of a TV movie. Cadnum's fine eye for detail and his basically entertaining story, however, help to overcome the novel's overfamiliar scenario.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
A talented landscape architect, Stratton Fields has one regret: he is not taken as seriously as he might be were he not the son of an old-money San Francisco family. He then learns that a contest was rigged against him, and the man who engineered the cheat, a powerful presence in the fashion and decorating world who resents Stratton's advantages, lets him know that Stratton will never get a fair chance. Suddenly, the people who stand in Stratton's way commit suicide, and he begins to encounter specters. Has Stratton unknowingly made a pact with some supernatural force to bring about the deaths? Or has he murdered these people himself without knowing it? His sense of powerlessness grows, but when his own lover is beaten by friends of the dead man, he knows he must confront both the humans and the spirits who are causing mayhem to discover the truth. This well-written thriller takes its time, building evidence and events slowly so the reader can savor every scene. For popular collections.
- A.M.B. Amantia, Population Action International, Washington, D.C.Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
