Arrived some time in the last few days from a paperbackswap member.

This makes the third MHC book I purchased just after Clark died. I was trying to remember what her work is like. Generally, I put her in the B category. Not a favorite author but I don't hate her.

Susan Chandler is a psychologist with a call-in radio show. She interviews another doctor, who has written about women who disappeared, and as an adjunct to the show she discusses the disappearance of Regina Clausen, a woman who went on a cruise and never got back.

Regina's mother has asked Chandler to bring the matter up. Even though it has been several years, she has not gotten over Regina's disappearance and wants answers. So Chandler essentially asks her readers if they know anything. She sets herself up as a detective, and a very public one.

A couple of women call in who know something that may be relevant to the case. But they become the victims of attacks. Are these attacks related? Chandler suspects that they are. She dons her investigative hat while going about her regular life, dating men who might have ulterior motives.

The book tells us something about what happened to the women who were on cruises and disappeared, but unlike many other authors, Clark does not choose to let us have the experience firsthand, as felt by the victims. The suspense is set back a bit. I knew- and most will know - that ultimately Chandler will be a target - but it is not a nail-biting novel. That's really okay with me.

What I didn't get, really, was the whole investigation-by-radio scenario. Chandler's show put women in danger. It seems like it would have made more sense for her to request that people with potential real evidence contact her privately. It also seemed bizarre that she took it upon herself to investigate the case.

On a table outside.