The Tomb

From the author of The Keep: sprightly, well-handled occult thrills - if nothing particularly fresh or scary. During the Indian mutiny of 1857, soldier Sir Albert Westphalen robbed and destroyed a Bengali temple in order to restore the squandered family fortune. So today, the N.Y.-based Westphalen heirs - aunts Grace and Nellie, and lovable seven-year-old Vicky - are unknowingly being stalked by the despoiled temple's hereditary, long-lost guardian Kusum: a Hindu ascetic/ fanatic, in the guise of a UN diplomat, obsessed with cleansing his polluted karma. (His servants are the rakoshi, fearsome demons created by the Old Gods, now hidden aboard his ship docked at a Manhattan pier.) Kusum has already disposed of Vicky's father Richard Westphalen. Now Aunt Grace mysteriously disappears. So Vicky's mother Gia, feeling the need for some high-powered help, calls in her ex-boyfriend Repairman Jack - a freelance, off-the-books paladin who rights wrongs and fixes evil-doers for a stiff fee. And the action that follows is reasonably tense, fairly persuasive, and fluently related - with dollops of sex, hardworking characters, and enough momentum to keep readers hanging in for the bloody (if not especially surprising) conclusion. Simpleminded but serviceable demon-fighting, likely to please fans of Frank De Felitta. (Kirkus Reviews)