That Childhood Country

Jobs are scarce in Drumboola, Ireland, in 1953, so John and Derek Flynn, 17-year-old twins from a poor family, plan to emigrate to Canada, where they can work on a cousin's farm. Derek looks forward to the adventure, but John is devastated at being separated from the young woman he has been seeing secretly--Rose O'Beirne Moffat, the only child of the local declining gentry. He and Rose make love for the first time, but when John departs, he is unaware that she is pregnant. En route to Canada, Derek surrenders his heart to the vivacious and wealthy Karen Lindstrom. But Karen takes her shipboard romances lightly, and at a fateful New Year's Eve party, she stalks John with even more determination than she ever lavished on Derek. The result drives a wedge between the brothers and sets the stage for horrifying events that occur in the lives of members of the next generation of Flynns. Despite a slow start and several unbelievable moments--such as Derek's taking responsibility for Karen's pregnancy by John--this potboiler will lure readers into the web of life and illicit love Purcell ( A Place of Stones ) spins around her characters. (Feb.)