Orion: The Story of a Rape: A Novel

Graves's ( Share of Honor ) diligent fictionalized account of his daughter's rape benefits from his insider's knowledge, but it suffers from his lack of authorial distance. Nancy Whittredge, a 25-year-old reporter at a New York City radio station, is raped and robbed after she withdraws money from an automatic teller machine. The events of the next days and months are related from various points of view--those of Nancy's parents, the detective assigned to the case, the rape counselor, the prosecutor and Nancy herself. Nancy struggles to find and prosecute her two assailants, her well-meaning parents often bungle their attempts to help her, and her relationships with her boyfriend and her best friend deteriorate--but she is able to forge ahead with her career and form new friendships. Graves's familiarity with the psychological and legal aspects of rape lends authority to this disturbing story, but he fails to involve the reader and is unable to illuminate his characters' emotional anguish. (Mar.)