cover image DIALOGUES

DIALOGUES

Stephen J. Spignesi, . . Bantam, $23 (368pp) ISBN 978-0-553-80401-0

Veteran anthologist Spignesi (Catastrophe! the 100 Greatest Disasters of All Time ; The Essential Stephen King ; etc.) makes his novel debut with this engrossing yet ultimately unsatisfying examination of a woman's transformation from sanctioned killer to murderer. Victoria "Tory" Troy is a euthanasia technician at a shelter in Connecticut whose primary job is to kill unclaimed animals every Friday in the facility's gas chamber. One Friday, instead of killing lost and unwanted pets, she contrives to inject her six co-workers with a paralyzing drug, then gases them to death. What follows is an often fascinating narrative carried out in dialogue form as Tory's case progresses through the judicial system. The first half of the book consists largely of interview sessions where a state-appointed psychiatrist assesses Tory's mental state at the time of the murders. Glimpses of Tory's writings and flashbacks to her troubled childhood heighten the tension. The prosecution's case, the trial and the jury's deliberations dominate the second half, also all in dialogue. Some of the exchanges that Spignesi includes do little to advance the plot, yet many are spellbindingly crafted. In the end, resolution—why did this woman do what she did?—is not forthcoming, and the finale falls back on one of the most shameless devices fiction writers can employ. Agent, John White. (May 3)