Fast-paced and gripping, albeit slightly predictable, Kingsbury's second novel (The Summer Fletcher Greel Loved Me) depicts a single day in Atlanta's drug-riddled underbelly. When a police sweep brings in dozens of petty drug dealers for questioning, it also nets Gracey Fill, veteran heroin addict and ex-wife of one of the city's biggest drug lords. As Officers Cole and Kelly listen, Gracey tells her story: "The Bible starts at the beginning," she says, "and to understand anything you gotta hear it from there." Her narrative is elegantly interwoven with the tales of a range of memorable characters, including Deneeka, a whoring transvestite with vast appetites for drugs and sex; Sonny, Gracey's abusive, drug-dealing ex-husband; Frazier and Audrey, two beautiful, rich teenagers spending their parents' money on dope; and Frazier's father and Audrey's mother, whose own entanglements blind them to the struggles of their children. Kingsbury also paints a believable picture of the two cops, especially Cole, the good-hearted greenhorn seeking to rid the world of its ills to make up for his own losses. Gracey's numerous abusive relationships, her sexual experimentation and heroin addiction make for difficult reading at times, but Kingsbury sympathetically charts her pain and growth; the poor-little-rich-kid drama, however—at least until its wrenching final scene—is less compelling. At times the story feels similar to other fictional takes on the subject (Trainspotting; Traffic), but Kingsbury's prose is powerful, her characters are vivid and the narrative pulls readers inexorably along. (Aug.)
