The Voyage

Former TV newsman MacNeil's second novel concerns a diplomat whose career is threatened by the mysterious dissappearance of his longtime mistress. (Publishers Weekly )Having published his first novel (Burden of Desire, Doubleday, 1992), MacNeil seems intent upon embarking on a second career in fiction, now that he is retiring from The MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour. His second novel is a thriller that tracks a Canadian career diplomat, David Lyon, through his up-and-down affair with a fashion model, Francesca (shades of The Bridges of Madison County!) D'Anielli. The best things about MacNeil's book are his pointed insights into the past 30 years of Canadian history. There are also some good passages about sailing. However, the labored inner thoughts of the diplomat and fashion model make for tiring reading, as do MacNeil's somewhat bashful but requisite sex scenes. Recommended where there is strong interest in Canada or in MacNeil in particular. David Dodd, Univ. of Col. at Colorado Springs (Library Journal )