PURSUIT (Gene Hackman) - April 27/14

This barely-passable thriller would hardly be worth mentioning had it been written by anyone other than Hackman. There are some exciting stretches here and there - the kidnapping stuff is expectedly tense - but Hackman offers up way too many superfluous portions, including a completely anticlimactic final 100 pages or so. (The girl is recovered and the book becomes all about the tedious investigation and pursuit of the perp.) The ending is pretty cool, though. (Julie leaves the guy to get eaten by coyotes.) **1/2 out of ****