CRASH HAUNTS `SURVIVOR'.

Byline: Knight-Ridder Tribune News Wire

It has been a year since Joe Carpenter, a crime reporter for the L.A. Post, lost his wife and two children in a plane crash that killed 300. Since then, he has been gripped by a deep depression, one that has rendered him emotionally paralyzed.

While visiting the graves of his wife and children on the anniversary of their deaths, he discovers a woman photographing the grave sites. She tells him she survived that plane crash and can reveal the secret behind it, a possibility that could bring Carpenter the closure he needs. But, before she can disclose the truth, a white van enters the cemetery, causing her to make a hasty retreat.

In ``Sole Survivor'' (Alfred A. Knopf; $25.95), Dean Koontz plunges Carpenter into a vortex of swirling conspiracies and scientific horrors as he attempts to uncover the truth behind the plane crash. But the secret organization, paranormal creationism and paranoia would be far more compelling if not for some rather gaping plot holes.

Koontz has always been a rather solid writer, and when he tightens his prose, he can pull you along no matter how incomprehensible his pseudo-science may be. This time, however, he cuts corners and depends heavily on cliches that keep the surprises minimal. But even a slack Koontz can create moments of tense imagination. When Carpenter finally uncovers the reason and motives behind the plane crash and the link to this sole survivor, the story takes off into a maelstrom of conspiracy that, despite its convoluted nature, still entertains.

For those who consider felines the most fascinating quadripeds on the planet, Desmond Morris' ``Catworld'' (Penguin; $29.95) is an encyclopedic guide to just about everything you ever wanted to know - and then some.

Among the more than 1,000 entries in this captivating photo- and illustration-packed volume, Morris lists some notable ailurophiles - uh, cat lovers - through history: authors Emily Bronte, Jean Cocteau, Colette and Ernest Hemingway, who owned 30; artists Paul Klee, Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso; presidents Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy; and composers Frederic Chopin, Maurice Ravel and - natch - Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Morris, a zoologist and author of nearly 30 books, including ``The Naked Ape'' and the bible on feline behavior, ``Catwatching,'' is at his very best in ``Catworld.'' He details amazing tidbits on behavior: Under the entry allogrooming, for example, find out what it means when adult cats who've grown up together groom each other (it's a bonding act that has nothing to do with cleanliness). Learn why some felines are catnip-junkies while others simply pass the plant by. Or that cat fights are a rarity under wild conditions because there is plenty of space.

Find an entry on cat litter, citing its inventor, Michigan native Edward Lowe, for arguably making it possible for cats to overtake dogs as the most popular pet of modern times.

Under cat books, Morris says there are more than 3,000 written in English. Francois Moncrif's ``Les Chats, '' published in 1727 and translated in 1961, was the first.

Look up cat films, which lists 64 including ``Breakfast at Tiffany's'' and ``The Incredible Shrinking Man.'' Morris - no relation to the orange Friskies icon - notes that too many films feature cats as savage killers with supernatural powers.

Yes, there's even a Z-cat, the Zibeline, which was suggested as an alternative name for the Burmese.