Review by Frank Plowright

Another Heat Seeker, another disappointing dive into sordid tits out for the lads exhibitionism, although the title pretty well gives that away. The writer also being the founding publisher certainly provides a statement of viewpoint.

Charles Ardai rapidly disposes of both girlfriend and adopted daughter acquired during Combustion, leaving Dahlia Racers a solo act when tracked down by exposé blogger Jacq McGee, for whom headlines are more important than privacy or safety. Working anonymously in the shadows is pretty well a necessity for Dahlia, so this complicates her life inordinately, not least making her a target for former clients who can’t let her be arrested as she knows too much.

There’s a pattern to Ardai’s plots that has Dahlia chased around the world, enabling Ace Continuado to draw glamorous settings for his naked women, but in Exposed it transmits as more arbitrary than before. Yes, Dahlia is attempting to discover which former client is attempting to kill her, but the tour around people seen in previous stories is just too contrived when matched against the twisting efficiency of Ardai’s usual stories. It’s almost as easy as a trip to the supermarket, and readers are going to pick up on a couple of the surprises, also uncharacteristic for an Ardai plot.

As far as the art goes, Continuado gives the readers what they want. Averaged out, there’s a naked woman on every other page, including scenes of a woman being treated after injury, while the sample art shows her attempting to be incognito! Only two featured women aren’t seen naked at some stage, and one of them is still at school.

Previous Heat Seeker has been more imaginatively plotted, and Exposed is altogether disappointing.