SEEING PINK

Five women resort to violence to avenge a battered friend in this over-the-top novel of female empowerment. The friends—a day-care provider, a police dispatcher and a mail carrier among them—don pink sheets to serve up a little of what one of them terms "preemptive justice" or "forefairness." Their first vigilante attacks capture the imagination of feminists everywhere, and their small West Virginia town soon finds itself overrun with radical women's groups and pink-accessorized supporters. Then Jed Whitecross, whom they believe to be their friend Penelope's abuser, fights back when they attempt to abduct him. Single mom Jo Adams emerges as the group's ringleader, but it is paraplegic Hannah who shoots him; all help dispose of the body. Partly because Jed is a senator's son, the FBI arrives in force, quickly thwarting the women's slapdash efforts to cover up the crime. Despite their discovery that Jed was not the batterer they wanted to punish after all, the friends have come too far to back down; the denouement finds them in a hostage situation amid a crowd of lawmen. Deftly written, O'Rourke's debut is full of appealing characters and moments that sparkle with tenderness. But the women's destructive actions, and their failure to investigate the facts or explore other options fully before turning to violence, may make this provocative story an uneasy read for all but the most radical. (Sept.)