A good mystery contains the constant tug of fear over the ability of a dangerous criminal to inflict great harm on those we care about; an all or nothing counterattack of an investigative hero or heroine who is as engaging as he or she is determined; and an original concept. Most fail on that last point. This one doesn't.

In terms of engaging hero or heroine, George D. Shuman's taut and tightly balanced thriller earns the term of originality with not one, but two, figures on the side of justice--and they're both on the distaff side.

Sherry Moore was named for the deceased daughter of the hospital maintenance man who found her unconscious early one morning in Philadelphia with a fractured skull from a bad fall. Brain damage left her blind with no memory of her past. She was only five.

After six years in an orphanage, Sherry discovered an unexpected form of vision. When she pressed a carnation into the hand of a fellow orphan girl who had died, the contact produced images of what the dead girl was remembering during the last 18 seconds of her life--the duration of short term memory. Sherry soon learned the lesson, however, that talking about it brought no advantage or reward.

One day, years later, now a stunning young woman of 23, the victim of a heart attack falls against her on the street, grabbing her hand. At the moment when the man's hand goes limp in death, Sherry again sees images... of a murder victim. This time she tries to keep it to herself, but questions of social responsibility get the better of her and she contacts the police.

Rookie detective John Payne is unusually sensitive to the beautiful woman with claims to have seen something apparently impossible, and the outcome of the case made possible by that sighting would bring Sherry's unusual power to the attention of world police, notoriety that attracts many a rich person desiring knowledge of their dead relatives' last thoughts, and the lifelong adoration of an unhappily married John Payne.

All of which levels the playing field when Earl Sykes, a morbidly dreadful, deadly serial killer is paroled from prison. The bodies quickly start falling in his widespread lineup of revenge and/or sexual executions, and Wildwood police lieutenant Kelly O'Shaughnessy's attempts to solve the case of disappeaing young women from the sands under the boardwalk.

By the time Moore and O'Shaughnessy come together in their dual pursuit and common purpose, much blood will have been spilled, O'Shaughnessy will be in the killer's crosshairs, romance and promises of happiness will seem to be around the corner, and strings of clues and false assumptions will finally be seen for what they are. But, it may be too late.

The most difficult part to accept in this journey of gripping suspense is that it's the author's first published novel (2nd written). Shuman's experience as an undercover narcotic detective; as a sergeant and, later, lieutenant commander for Internal Affairs; and operations commander of the Police Academy explains the kind of background that makes the law enforcement drill so convincing. He knows the relationships, he knows the politics. What his background doesn't explain is the unerring literary mastery--one that's sharp enough to avoid making too much of the daringly original premise and turning the highly realistic story into a supernatural gimmick.

This superbly orchestrated and structured tale is one that has to come as a warning that there's a new guy on the block--a novelistic presence that's so intuitively talented he could strike fear of competition among the best best sellers in the genre.