The General's Daughter

November 16, 1992
After the wit and panache of his bestselling The Gold Coast , DeMille's latest effort may disappoint his fans. The author returns to his more customary stylish-suspense-novel mode but retains a smart-aleck narrator--here, Paul Brenner, of the Army's Criminal Investigation Division. At Fort Hadley, Ga., Ann Campbell, daughter of the post commander, is found murdered under bizarre circumstances. Brenner learns that Ann's entire personal life, in fact, veered toward the bizarre; she even had a secret basement ``playroom'' in her home. Moral turpitude runs riot at Fort Hadley, and Brenner must wade through muck of all sorts to discover the killer's identity. Too much muck, as it turns out: the detective work becomes repetitious, and suspense is unfortunately in short supply. Brenner's one-liners have none of the punch of John Sutter's wry observations in The Gold Coast --indeed, the device of a waggish narrator doesn't fit these proceedings; the wisecracks seem grafted on. So, too, does a resumed romance between Brenner and an old flame--we don't get a good enough picture of either to care about whatever sparks might fly. Characterization in general is fuzzy, though DeMille captures the often unquestioning regimen of life on a military base. One only wishes that his tale had more spirit and dash. Author tour.

Ann Campbell is dead, apparently raped and murdered on the firing range of the military base under her father's command. Her troubles are over, but for Paul Brenner, the CID agent assigned to her case, trouble is just beginning. John MacDonald's subtle, skillful narration brings this grisly tale to life. His vocal range is less in evidence in this work than in others he's narrated, but the listener will have no difficulty distinguishing the characters. MacDonald's voice is clear and well-suited to the first-person narrative. This is a spellbinding presentation of a best-selling work. B.L.W. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine