Simon Guerney is a British gun-for-hire who specializes in dealing with kidnappers. When the son of an Italian millionaire is abducted in the United States, Guerney is called in. The scene shifts to Britain, where the boy has been brought, and Guerney finds himself battling powerful adversaries who have targeted him for elimination. But there is nothing straightforward about this thriller. What starts out as a rescue attempt is suddenly complicated enormously by the introduction of heavy doses of parapsychology. Mind-reading operatives, including Guerney, make this anything but a traditional spy novel. ESP aside, however, there is plenty of sex, violence, and action to keep every reader's attention in what turns out to be a first-rate choice for popular reading. Brian Alley, Sangamon State University Library, Springfield, Ill.