Gin Lane

Memorial Day weekend promises to be quite an event in Parade columnist Brady's new foray into the Hamptons. This time out, the author of Further Lane (set in East Hampton) sets his story amidst the snobbier estates of Southampton, where journalist Beecher Stowe and his amour, Lady Alix Dunraven, are once again involved in personal intimacies and potential murder. Notorious morning deejay ""Cowboy"" Dils (Don Imus crossbred with Howard Stern), who has managed to offend virtually everyone, is the target of several suspicious ""accidents."" Meanwhile, social climbers Tom and Daisy Buchanan (wink, wink) are marrying off a daughter to Viscount ""Fruity"" Albemarle in what promises to be the social event of the summer. Add to the mix a slew of security people checking the area in anticipation of a possible presidential drop-in. Tossing out tart observations and acid one-liners, Brady fills his pages with socialites, titans of industry, showbiz arrivistes and various hangers-on but not much in the way of plot. Nonetheless, devoted readers of Women's Wear Daily, Town and Country, Liz Smith and society chronicler Suzy will enjoy unmasking some of the thinly disguised and wickedly drawn real-life personages in this juicy m lange. (June)