Gravewriter

Set in Providence, R.I., Arsenault's quietly potent first in a new series introduces down-on-his-luck obituary writer Billy Povich. Deeply in debt to loan sharks and still reeling from the death of his ex-wife a year earlier, Billy finds distraction from his woes while serving as a juror in the trial of Peter Shadd, a punk who shot dead career criminal Garrett Nickel in an escape attempt the pair made from prison. What looks like a clear case of murder develops holes as Billy looks closer. Then the only other juror who questions the case takes a nosedive out of a parking garage, and an unknown man in a fedora begins dogging Billy. Through his friendship with pretty social worker Mia Kahn, Billy starts piecing together the complex, sordid truth. Just when the gray streets of Providence threaten to become hopelessly noir, Arsenault (Spiked ) adds just the right touch of humor or tenderness. Particularly affecting are scenes with Billy's seven-year-old son, Bo, and even a massive leg-breaking thug named Walter has his lighter moments. (Dec.)