Terry Peters Contributing Writer Choice of Evil oy Andrew Vachss, Knopf, 305 pages, $23.00 (US) An Andrew Vachss novel rakes you off the beaten track. Step cut of the light and into the darkness to explore a side of New York strect life where different rules apply. In his 11th novel, Choice of Evil, his main character Burke falls back on his strongest motivation, revenge, when his girl- friend Crystal Beth is gunned down. The man who hunts in the cesspool of freaks and killers will stop at nothing to get ibution. In this world an eye for an eye is not enough, it is more likely to be the whole head for an cye. “Trolling for freaks in this city is no different from poling a skiff through a swamp, hunt- ing for gators. They don’t have to be smart to be dan- gerous. And you had better not fall in the water. As Burke digs deeper in his search for the killer, he discovers connections to his own past, with painful recol- Icctions. Vachss writes of dark and twisted torments, of evil that men do and choices that are made. Like a gunslinger, dressed in black, Burke is ready to stand up against evil ‘and to live or dic according to his own rules, governed by his own morality. STREET STORIES OF PRIVATE EYE JAMES WAGNER @ Jimmy the Wags, Strect Stories of a Private Eye by James Wagner, with Patrick Picciarelli, William Morrow, 224 pages, $35.00 After 20 years as a New York cop, James Wagner opted for the pension cheque and a new career. He became a private investigator and stepped onto a roller coaster ride that took him closer and closer to the edge of the law he previously upheld. Bodyguard work, spying f. on spouses and employees, 3 . kidnapping, all became part of this sew profession. After successfully grabbing a man’s son whose mother had illegal- ly fled the country with him, his reputation grew, “Now I was definitely the person to call if you wanted someone weal b ay snatched.” . : This is not the stuff of detective novels or television shows. Wagner is the real thing, and he gives us an honest account of what that entails. He’s talked the talk and walked the walk. His various episodes are told in an often humourous, forth- *: right manner. From protecting visiting Saudi princes to orga- nizing security for expensive strip clubs, he’s seen a lot and lived to tell about it. .- . “ This isa fascinating Jook at a profession few understand. A wild ride of a story made al] the more interesting because it’s @ Hannibal by Thomas Harris, Delacorte Press, © "486 pages, $39.95. * 8uIn Stlence of the Lanths,. Thomas Harris created a - monstrous villain whose evil frightened us both as readers and viewers of the movic,ver- * ion. Hannibal picks up story seven years later. : ~ Hannibal Lecter is still on the loose but not forgotten. Clarice Starling is struggling with her career and a contro- .’ versial shooting will draw the ‘elusive cannibal to her. ‘+, Thomas Harris has writ- a much more'than a sequel t6 a successful story. In Hannibal, he takes us on a idark journey into the killer’s mind, giving us one of the most interesting characters in modern thrillers. © ~ - Along the way our emo- tions are pulled in different “directions as we wonder who isthe bigger villain. Harris provides an exciting conclu- © sion with several unexpected twists, ensuring Hannibal Lecter’s place in contempo- rary fiction. ‘ @ Pool Light by Howard Schatz, Graphis, 256 pages, Opening the cover to Pool Light, there is a feeling of slip- ping into a dream. As you turn the pages, this sensation builds drawing you deeper as Howard Schatz’s beautiful images force you to re-evaluate how you look ar the human form. Schatz is no ordinary photographer. In his first book, Waterdance, he presented: a study of dancers in an underwater environment. Now three years later he has gone further, pre- senting a unique viewpoint, part dream, part erotic fantasy, part fashion, all art. . The obstacles to rake his “liquid studio” work were enor- mous. The demands placed on the models were huge and equaled by the grucling requirements for the photographer himself. His enthusiasm and drive for the project were unre- lenting: “I want to look through the viewfinder of the camera and fall in love. I want to look through my viewfinder and see an image I’ve never seen before anywhere else.” Schatz has achieved his goal. The photographs celebrate the figure in new and wonderful ways. The models are weight- less, free, asking us to join them in their water world. We have only to turn the page and we are there among them. @ The Heart of a Thirsty Wornan by Lana Witt, Scribner, 363 pages, $34.00 Josie Tolliver knows something is missing frony her life and in her struggle to fill that vo.4 she will uproot herself in a cross-country search: The probiem is knowing what she’s searching for. Is it the sister that she’s missed since childhood, is it the alternative lifestyle she both wants and fears, is it love? In her second novel, Lana Witt tells Josie’s story with humour and sympathy. She moves us to remember our own lost -drcams as her heroine seeks self-discovery and personal zrowth. . Witt fills the pages with colourful characters, like the bar- owning twin sisters, Venus Lily and Lily Venus. The characters are the strength of the story as they each battle their own demons, sometimes winning and sometimes being beaten lown. Josie travels her own route, going by instinct, watching the ‘road ahead while aware of the shadows in the rear-view mirror. - Like watching a flower strive to grow in the wild, we fear it petting trampled, we delight in its growth and finally cheer its loom. . ro ne Te ety twee ae Paty te! The technology you reed. Just around the corner. 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