BEFORE THE CRADLE FALLS

The blue man chases Cradle Robber while police hunt both: a cop novel more like a comic book than is good for it.

The blue man is a time-traveler, back from the future in an effort to prevent the murder of his beloved daughter Naomi. To do this, he must somehow forestall Cradle Robber, a notorious serial killer specializing in babies. The thing about the blue man is that he’s a generous spirit, determined to salvage as many little ones—not just Naomi—as good intentions and a moderate amount of precognition will permit. And he’s okay at the work. Not that he has real super powers—nothing to match the likes of those in the flashily costumed set—but he does have this way of being in the right place at the right time, infuriating Cradle Robber by bringing on bouts of murder interruptus. Modest dresser that he is, the blue man contents himself with a wide-brimmed hat and a long coat over a kind of time-traveler’s wetsuit. He’s 60-ish, low-key, and blue-tinted as the result of the hefty energy charge required to send him trans-timing. Heading Portland (Oregon) PD’s Cradle Robber task force is Detective Kyle Sommers, a deeply troubled cop who lost his own daughter Shelby in an automobile accident. If the blue man can save Naomi, Sommers comes to believe, then maybe Shelby can be resurrected as well. Meantime, for once in his twisted, homicidal existence, Cradle Robber is feeling overmatched and decides to spring a nasty, all-inclusive trap. Much hangs in the balance: the fates of the blue man, of Sommers, their loved ones, and a whole bunch of mutually dependent worlds as well.

Paranormal, shmaranormal, what David (Ship of the Damned, 2000, etc.) still can’t get the hang of are those storytelling demons of plotting, pacing, and people.