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Books: Unsafe Sex

THE HORSE LATITUDES

by Robert Ferrigno

Morrow; 294 pages; $18.95

Part Raymond Chandler (were he soft-boiled) and part Elmore Leonard (before he became famous), Robert Ferrigno has created in his first novel some completely original characters who fascinate without being fantastic. The plot revolves around Danny DiMedici's search for his ex-wife Lauren, a celebrity psychologist who has disappeared after a scientist is murdered in her elegant beach house. But The Horse Latitudes works because it is really the story of Danny's quest to get over his obsession with the amoral, alluring Lauren. Under the cover of deadpan comedy and sharp-edged eroticism,...

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