Intimate Evil

Reidinger's new novel isn't likely to win the praise that greeted his debut in The Best Man. This story's armature is too shaky for the weight of its plot and subplots. At age 17, Jason McGuire is on death row, convicted of killing his father Donald and older brother Patrick. His plight attracts lawyer Bryan Delafield, a loving husband and father of a small girl, Jessie. Determined to save Jason from the electric chair, the attorney urges him to reveal his sexual abuse by both his father and brother. Jason refuses. In the process of appealing the case to the higher courts, Delafield undergoes an abrupt, incredible change of attitude that will surprise readers, adding another synthetic note to the sensationalism. It's difficult to make sense of the motivations of the characters, harder still to care about them. (May)