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An unidentified drug links three men: Frank, an Allied spy sent to abort the delivery of a shipment to German soldiers during WWII; Billy, a teenage outsider in the late 1950s, about to consummate his relationship with his soulmate, Patricia; and Jack, a detective investigating a series of 1990s murders. Billy and Jack suffer from recurring nightmares so real they feel they’ve lived them. With the help of Helen, a pathologist who is also his colleague and romantic interest, Jack uncovers the source of his pain.
The bulk of the book centers around Jack. Searching for his connection to the men in his dreams, Jack discovers not only the drug but a mystery man behind it. This elusive enemy infuses the book with mystery and tension. Soldiers, Billy’s bullies, and the criminals Jack seeks may populate most of the narrative, but it is Helen who triumphs in the end. With her patient and probing care for Jack, she helps him find, along with his enemy, the source of his strength. He is not crazy, only crazy for her.
While scenes of Frank fighting his way to accomplish his mission in the nick of time, Billy planning every detail of his night with Patricia, and Jack tracking clues to solve the murder cases make the book an action thriller, the thrill is also mind-bendingly psychological. For example, because the enemy is hard to locate, Billy and Jack both wonder if they’re the enemy, their nightmare-filled minds sabotaging their sanity. Descriptions of the book’s many settings create suspense as the reader becomes the detective, on alert and scanning for the enemy to pop out from clue-decadent spaces. With this novel, Paxton has created an adrenaline-rush ride.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review