Matt ans Susan, two rival palaeontologists and former lovers, are summoned by a secret US goverment agency to help locate their college mentor, who has disappeared without trace in the remote mountains of Tajikstan. It appears that a race of Neanderthals have survived on the roof of the world, the high Himalayas. When Matt and Susan finally make contact, the implications of their dramatic discovery are more than simply scientific. These hominids have the uncanny facility for telepathic communication, and both American and Russian agents would like to harness their power for military and espionage purposes. ''Darnton narrates his rollicking tale with just the right tone of straightfaced experience he needs to make everything seem pretty plausible. (In particular the ESP skill of protohumans, something called ''remote viewing'', is hair-raisingly believable. ) ''NEANDERTHAL'' is perfect vacation reading: entertaining, midly educational and scary enough to make you grateful that the only neanderthals you''re likely to meet will be the kind who cut into your lane on the expressway to the beach. '' - Maureen Corrigan, NEWSDAY
