The Bad Seed

With this novella pairing, Hayes (Flesh to Flesh) returns with more melodramatic tales of deranged, obsessed lovers involved in steamy sex, betrayals, and murder. In "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues," a young Blues Carmichael desperately needs to be loved, which pushes him to kill his friend and confused male lover, Jabari ("What we doin' ain't normal. My family would never accept this in me"). A decade later, Blues is planning the murder of his wealthy D.C. husband, Robert, even as he continues an affair with Robert's lawyer, Nigel. When Robert's estranged daughter, Ashleigh, shows up, however, Blues's scheme begins to unravel. "Crazy in Love" introduces young Brandon Heart, a popular, athletic high school student with a crush on his teacher, a successful novelist. Brandon is as deranged as Blues and his crush turns just as violent. Hayes's latest is a page-turner bursting with the genre's standard themes, attitude, and clearly defined%E2%80%94if sometimes suspect%E2%80%94motivations. Though the characters often express themselves in ways that betray their utilitarian origins, they manage to feel lifelike. But both offerings are so plagued by implausibility that it's impossible to suspend disbelief. (June)