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Hasn't the horror market seen enough supernatural detective tales? No. Not if the next entry into the market is this savage and stylish mystery from Lee Driver. It may be a crowded field, but you will want to make room for private investigator Chase Dagger and his offbeat crew, especially Sara Morningsky, able assistant and shape-shifter.

Dagger is something of a mystery himself. No one knows the full story of his past. No one with a sense of self-preservation is going to go digging around in that dark area. The more you know of the man, the more you want to stay out of his way. Unless you are a woman on the prowl, that is; he has an irresistible allure.

Oh! And he is very good at his job. Just don't ask where he got his training.

Come to think of it, none of the members of his team benefit from too intense an examination. Sara, the shape-shifter, is a startling combination of nervous timidity and fearless ferocity. The rest of the band ranges from paranoid schizophrenic to doctor-on-the-run. A more interesting cast hasn't been thrown together in a long time.

For a fascinating company, an equally enticing case is in order. Driver is up to the challenge, don't worry.

Rachel Tyler has just been the unfortunate recipient of a lethal bullet. The interesting thing is -- she died before, about five years before the night in question, in fact. Someone, somewhere, is not telling the truth, but they are obviously quite willing to kill to keep it hidden.

Bereaved husband Robert Tyler hires Dagger to find out what really happened five years ago and what is going on now. Stalker-in-the-making, ex-fiancee Sheila wants Dagger back in her bed and under her control. Everyone wants something from the elusive Dagger, but he will have the final word, even if he isn't certain what it is that he wants.

The plots in The Good Die Twice twist and turn and keep the reader zooming through the book at top speed. But, it is the characters and the relationships among them that make this such an addictive read. These are people you want to follow about and eavesdrop on, just because you don't want to miss a single spark fly. One of them is bound to kindle a conflagration that will burn their world down around them. You know it and they know it.

And what about the growing fire between Dagger and his fragile, unsophisticated Sara? That may be the most engrossing mystery of all.

The Good Die Twice is described as the first in a series. For all our sakes, let's hope that Driver is a fast writer, because waiting for the next installment of this adventure could be a worse torture than any the bad guys in this book can dream up. And October of 2000 seems a painfully long time away right now.

In between reviews and interviews, Lisa DuMond writes science fiction and humour. DARKERS, her latest novel, will be published in early 2000 by Hard Shell Word Factory. She has also written for BOOKPAGE and PUBLISHERS WEEKLY. Her articles and short stories are all over the map. You can check out Lisa and her work at her website hikeeba!.