Del Rey (Hardcover), ISBN 0-345-44898-7
Although it contains a few, make that a very few, paranormal elements, and its authors ordinarily write best-selling fantasies, Regina's Song fits more comfortably into the mystery -- or maybe even the thriller -- category, but it isn't by any stretch of my imagination a fantasy, which disappointed me, because I quite enjoy the Eddings' fantasy creations.

Except for the terminally insipid dialogue, Regina's Song delivers a relatively good read. Twin girls, identical down to their DNA, suffer a huge trauma. One of the pair is raped and killed; the other regresses back to childhood where she only whispers in the secret language she shared with her sister. Institutionalized, the survivor, presumed to be Renata (for reasons unclear because even the parents couldn't tell them apart) starts to speak again when a family friend and big brother type goes to the institution.

A graduate student, Mark, the first person narrator, agrees to take care of her (more or less) when Renata moves to Seattle to live with her cop aunt and monitor a class he teaches. He lives in the same house as a number of other graduate students in various disciplines, and they all begin to take an interest in Renata and to assume a protective attitude toward her.

The protective attitude grows stronger when a serial killer stalks city parks, dicing and slicing men who roam the parks at night. The male graduate students uncover the inside scoop on the killings and act to protect the three female students (and Renata) from the killer. The group also grows more and more concerned as Renata's mental condition begins to show signs of slippage -- as manifested by horrific, vocal nightmares she doesn't remember but her aunt can't forget.

Am I glad I read it? Yes, but I won't read it again, even though I will put it on the shelf with the rest of my Eddings collection.

Patricia Lucas White

Patricia Lucas White's latest historical novel, To Last a Lifetime, was an Eppie finalist for 2003. To Last a Lifetime and two of her fantasy romances, the Sapphire Award-winning A Wizard Scorned and The Godmother Sanction, can be ordered through Hard Shell Word Factory. Her recent contemporary, PS, I've Taken a Lover, is available from Lionhearted Books.

Click here to share your views.