SMOKE SCREEN

This thriller pits the world of tobacco big business against public health. Tobacco heir Trevor Barnett, ineffectual and irreverant, has a trust fund that requires his employment in the family corporation. He knows that smoking is a public health problem but doesn't really care, rationalizing that smokers have a right to make their own decisions. But when push comes to shove between anti-smoking advocates and the tobacco industry, the ruthless president of Barnett's company decides to play hardball--and taps Barnett to take the fall for those who are really in power. But Barnett hatches a plan to fight back. L.J. Ganser's reading moves along at a clip that seems a bit too fast. Still, along with the suspense, the author gets to blow a little smoke about health versus choice. A.L.H. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/ JUL 04]