POSSESSED BY SHADOWS

An avid rock climber refuses to go gently in Merritt's gorgeous sixth novel. The story of Molly and Tom begins with a terrible irony: doctors examining Molly after a climbing accident (a falling rock knocked her unconscious during a climb at Tahquitz, Calif., forcing her husband, Tom, to stage a dramatic rescue) discover an inoperable brain tumor. At Molly's insistence, the two travel to Europe to climb their favorite peaks again before she dies. That setup is enough for a compelling and tragic love story, but alternating narratives and a long-kept secret make the novel even more powerful. Chapters switch between Tom's devoted, melancholy reminiscences of his last year with Molly and the text of an autobiography she wrote in her waning days, giving the story great depth of feeling. And Molly's past affair with another climber, one of Tom's best friends, hovers over events like a gray haze, adding emotional complexity. The only real problem is that Merritt's fixation on the nuances of serious climbing will be of interest primarily to other climbers; everyone else will skim ahead before slowing again at the next moment of searing humanity. Agent, Kathy Green, Carlisle & Company . (June)