The Cold Kiss
Dean Koontz fans will find much to like in Rector's debut, a contemporary thriller about a couple on the lam. Nate and his pregnant fiancée, Sara, who each have reason for fleeing their pasts, end up in a situation straight out of Hitchcock on their drive from Minnesota to get married in Reno, Nev. While at a highway rest stop in Nebraska, Sara takes pity on a fellow diner patron, Syl White, who's coughing up blood, and persuades Nate to give the man a ride after his car won't start. When a blizzard forces them to pull in at an isolated motel, Nate and Sara are horrified to find that their passenger has died. After discovering White had almost  million in cash with him, the pair plan to conceal the corpse in the growing snowdrifts and use the money to start a new life. Of course, things only get increasingly complicated and violent. While some may find the end a copout, Rector takes a stock noir setup and makes the most of it through clever plotting and spare prose.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.