Desperate Highways

A distraught, almost incoherent, Randall "Kit" Carson flies from the main office in Cleveland to Knoxville to assign his top private investigator Gabe Treloar with the most important case the firm has ever had. Gabe must safely bring home Kit's missing daughter, twenty-three year old Sybil, who apparently ran off with a Nick Switzer, a man with a long record. Gabe will do anything for Kit, the man who taught him how to be a good police officer and gave him a civilian job too. Gabe soon tracks the pair to Memphis where he learns that they have been involved in cult activities. When a clue sends him to Las Vegas, Gabe realizes he must go underground if he is to find the couple, who pulled a scam, on a now irate paramilitary organization before they come to any harm. However, by jumping into the fray, Gabe has placed his own life on the line. Though well written, the third novel in the Treloar mysteries, DESPARATE HIGHWAYS, does not come close to the level of excellence of the previous two stories (see THE GHOSTS OF SAIGON and A TYPICAL AMERICAN TOWN) . Gabe appears seems to be an arrogant know it all (he must have one hell of a T-shirt collection since he seems to have done it all), thereby losing some of the charm he oozes in the first two books. The story line is very interesting, but dragged down by way too many leaps of faith. Unless, the reader desperately needs a new Treloar fix, this reviewer strongly recommends that the audience try John Maddox Roberts' other Treloar mysteries for two superior and delightful experiences. Harriet Klausner