ISBN 1-85797-697-5 (UK hbk),,,1-85797-698-3 (UK trade pbk)

"Verbum is a computer network that allows users to communicate intimately without ever meeting or knowing each other's real identities, using on-screen nicknames to preserve their anonymity.

"But now a new kind of predator is stalking the network, looking for more than an exchange of electronic intimacies. SNOWFLAKE is a psychopathic computer genius who has found a way of accessing the personal details of other Verbum users. And with that knowledge he is able to bring them face to face with their most secret fears.

"When SNOWFLAKE locks onto Kate Lavin, however, he is unknowingly going one to one with an opponent worthy of his own dark brilliance. Kate's ex-husband Ellis Hoile is an obsessive, otherworldly computer whizz-kid and the only man capable of tracking SNOWFLAKE through the twisting labyrinths of cyberspace. And when Ellis realizes the terrible danger Kate is in, a dazzling battle of wits begins that will end in a shocking climax." [jacket blurb, UK trade pbk, 1995]

"The premise: serial killer who selects and tracks down his victims by hacking computer systems.

"Quite a few novels have already dealt with this theme, so this book is not particularly original. The writing style is straightforward and very easy to read. The tale is cautionary. Yet, the story offers little insight into the killer's motivations, features mainly stereotypical characters, and doesn't present us with any serious plot twists. It's not clear who the book is aimed at. Readers interested in serial killers will be disappointed in the lack of gratuitous sex and violence. Readers into detective fiction will not find much to challenge the old grey cells.

"The verdict: contains enough to keep you reading, but relatively lightweight stuff." --Henry W.Targowski (in Mark/Space , 15 February 1998).