A CARNIVORE'S INQUIRY

As provocative as the title may be, the novel is more so. Katherine seems bored even though her place in the world is precarious; she seems composed even though episodes would prove otherwise. As she makes her way across North America, so does a chain of bizarre murders that cut a frightening swath of carnage. Punctuated by almost clinical accounts of cannibalistic moments in history, this chilling story can veer sharply between being intriguing and leaving one cold. Wendy Hoopes captures the removed, almost otherworldly, quality of the novel's storyteller, whose carnivorous interests take a sinister turn. L.B.F. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 04/ JAN 05]