Book Review: Night Wind

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Night Wind     Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
Stephen Mertz
Class/Genre:   Romance
Five Star, Sep 2002, $26.95, 261 pp.

After divorcing her husband Jeff Lovechio, a Chicago Realtor, for cheating on her, Robin Curtis and her twelve-year-old son Paul relocate to Devil Creek, New Mexico. Robin will teach at the local school. Her neighbor is also new to the town as Mike Landiware gave up his teaching at the university in Albuquerque to escape from the memories of his beloved but now deceased wife.

The quiet town seems perfect to Robin until punk Bobby Caldwell goes on a shooting rampage before killing himself. That same night a serial killer starts murdering a woman every evening. The townsfolk are on edge and Robin wonders if her ex is the culprit as he has recently threatened her by phone. However, when Paul and a friend vanish in the mountains chased by a paramilitary grpoup, a frantic Robin turns to Mike to rescue her son. What they face and what is going on will leave both shaken, if they survive to tell it.

Fans of government conspiracies (including defrocked scientists) will enjoy NIGHT WIND, a fast-paced thriller in which the suspense never slows down until the end. The story line is loaded with non- stop action, but takes the time to describe the town, some of its residents, and a budding romance between the two emotionally raw neighbors. Though a subplot involving a Native American shaman is underutilized except as a mountain guide and the hero’s Green Beret skills is too convenient, readers will still want more novels like this one’s faster than the speed of light pace from Stephen Mertz.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner