The Hunted

January 1, 2001
Questions of identity are at the heart of Jacobson's follow-up to the suspense thriller False Accusations. Unfortunately, despite an unexpected twist at the end, those questions are trapped in a by-the-numbers plot. As the novel begins, three men have disappeared. Michael Chambers, husband of Placerville, Calif., therapist Dr. Lauren Chambers, hasn't returned from a weekend ski trip. In Washington, D.C., well-connected murderer Anthony Scarponi has recently been released from prison pending a new trial. Performing surgery on himself to remove the tracking device implanted in his body, Scarponi sets out to kill Harper Payne, the former FBI agent whose testimony initially convicted him. Payne, meanwhile, has disappeared from the witness protection program. Lauren's search for her husband links the other two disappearances, as she and private investigator Nick Bradley travel to Virginia, where they discover that Michael was involved in a car accident. Suffering from amnesia and a bullet wound in the leg, Michael is being chased by FBI agents who think he is Payne. When the agents find Michael, they convince him that he is, in fact, Payne, and reenlist him in the hunt for Scarponi. Every character harbors either a hidden agenda or a paranoid suspicion in this overworked, undercooked tale, fated to try the patience of even the most charitable of thriller fans. 6-city author tour. (Feb.) Forecast: The best thing about this book is its title, and that's not enough to prompt potential buyers to make it come true.