THRILLERS

Vixen

By Ken Bruen (St. Martin's Griffin, $12.95). Grade: A

This superb short novel, or long novella, is an homage to the recently departed Ed McBain/Evan Hunter, whose 87th precinct police stories were the sine que non of their genre. Beginning with Cop Hater in 1956, McBain put out 50 police procedurals that many would claim are the best ever written.

Now Bruen, an Irishman of peculiarly good literary skills himself, peoples his latest with a squad room full of singularly individualistic and clearly original English cops. Anyone who has read McBain will see the similarities immediately.

The de facto head of this squad isn't the buttoned-down Chief Inspector Roberts, or the long-before-noon-lush Miles, but rather the hard-as-nails Inspector Brant. Powered by an unwavering righteousness, an affinity for parties and willing women, Brant is as feared among his peers as he is among his enemies, of which he has many.

Trouble starts when the precinct receives a warning call about a bomb placed in a cinema. The bomb explodes, and the bomber warns that another will go off if an extortion fee isn't paid. Of course it isn't, and another bomb goes off and then another. Much to the disgust of Brant and his comrades, the powers that be decide to pay up.

The bombers seem to have gotten away clean, until Brant and Roberts notice one little thing out of place. The hunt is then on for a wanton, young seductress with the morality of a garden slug.

Angie James is seriously deranged. She knows it, accepts it and lives her life in thrall to her demons. Her plan is to score enough quick capital to set herself up for life, and it's a testament to Angie's ruthlessness that she has no qualms about frying an accomplice in a bathtub or poisoning an old girlfriend with strychnine simply to watch the result.

As Brant and his fellows close in on Angie, a small world of common drama swirls around the lives of several squad members. A black female detective, burned out on the daily racism, finds wider solace in a bottle; a gay detective is out of the closet but has bigger worries on the way. Alcohol, promiscuity, drug addiction and hubris are rife in this squad room - as they are in any group setting other than, perhaps, a Focus on the Family meeting.

It is this familiarity with the characters' lives, but also the fact that they are in a dangerous profession, that makes Bruen's cop tales so compelling. And McBain's, too.

Peter Mergendahl

UNREAL WORLDS

The Book of Renfield: A Gospel of Dracula

By Tim Lucas (Touchstone, $14). Grade: A-

Since its publication in 1897, Dracula has never been out of print. Presently, the novel is available in more than 30 English language editions and in approximately two dozen foreign languages. The number of associational books, motion pictures, television productions (who can forget the Buffy meets Dracula episode?) is countless.

Tim Lucas' new homage to Bram Stoker's classic, The Book of Renfield, stands out for two reasons: R. M. Renfield, Carfax Asylum's resident lunatic, is a character who deserves a more thorough look; and Lucas succeeds in capturing the style and cadence of the original well enough to make readers suspect they're reading Stoker's own words.

In the original Dracula, we first meet Renfield when Jack Seward, a psychiatrist and one of the narrators of the book, discusses his weird mania. He eats flies, spiders and other small animals, thinking that each life he consumes will make him live longer. This makes for comic relief in movie and stage versions of the story, but in the book, Renfield is not a humorous individual. Renfield becomes Dracula's human connection, and the name Renfield has become synonymous for any servant of an evil master.

Like the original, Lucas' prequel is an epistolary novel, composed of letters, Seward's diary entries, pages from Renfield's notebook and records of Seward's interviews with his patient.

The tale begins with Dr. Seward's staff discovering the manic Renfield devouring a rat in the ruins of Carfax Abbey next door to the asylum. He is immediately bundled into a "straight waistcoat" and given free room and board in a padded cell.

In his moments of lucidity, Renfield tells the doctor the story of his life, a series of fantastic events that seem to make him destined to be Dracula's lackey. Meanwhile, readers are made privy to background facts about Seward's relationships with Quincy Morris, Arthur Holmwood, Lucy Westenra, the Harkers and Dr. Van Helsing that were not recounted in Stoker's novel.

While never really terrifying, Renfield retains the eerie atmosphere of the No. 1 horror novel of all time. It is must reading for fans of the sanguinary Count.

Mark Graham

CHILDREN

Elephants Can Paint Too!

By Katya Arnold (An Anne Schwartz Book, $16.95, ages 3-7). Grade: A

Here's an incredible story of how amazing animals - elephants in this case - can be.

An artist and teacher, Arnold tells readers that she teaches in two schools: "One is in the city. The other is in the jungle." Arnold explains that she teaches painting to New York City schoolchildren and Asian elephants in Thailand.

If that seems unbelievable, she has the photos to prove it: pictures of elephants with brushes in their trunks, painting everything from bold strokes to beautiful flowers. "Most elephants don't paint real things," she writes. ". . . But some elephants paint trees and flowers. It takes them about three years to learn."

Arnold details the similarities and differences between her two-legged and four-legged students: "Some of my students have hands. Others have trunks. Some eat grass. Others eat peanut butter and jelly. But they all love cookies." (That last bit is accompanied by a great close-up of an Oreo about to make contact with an elephant's big mouth.)

Her photographs illustrate the ways they hold their paintbrushes and their varying artistic styles. Small boxes with interesting information about elephants are also sprinkled throughout the text. (Who knew that elephants have 150,000 muscles in their trunks?)

In an Author's Note, Arnold explains that she sells the elephants' artwork to raise funds to protect the diminishing Asian elephants. Book proceeds will also benefit the Asian Elephant Art and Conservation Project.

Natalie Soto

COLORADO AUTHORS

The Complete Guide to Colorado's Wilderness Areas

By John Fielder and Mark Pearson (Westcliffe, $24.95). Grade: A

This indispensable guide for Colorado hikers, backpackers and campers has been revised and expanded to include new hikes, photos and more vivid renderings of maps , and it also includes our three newly designated wilderness areas. Thus, familiar hikes such as those in the stunning Indian Peaks area share equal billing with new ones in the Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness, James Peak Wilderness and Gunnison Gorge Wilderness.

The 315 day, destination, loop and shuttle hikes are grouped by region of the state. Each entry contains pertinent essential facts regarding length of hike, elevation range and difficulty, along with notes about waterfalls, wild flowers, views, terrain changes, etc.

In addition, guidelines for novice hikers regarding equipment, safety, environmental sensitivity and the dangers of hypothermia are included.

Of added interest is the discussion of the value and function of wilderness and explanations of Colorado's varied ecosystems.

Joan Hinkemeyer

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