Thorn Jack

Debut author Harbour finds some new ground in this twisty, contemporary reworking of the oft-retold Scottish ballad “Tam Lin.” Serafina “Finn” Sullivan, haunted by her sister’s recent suicide, is just starting college in bohemian, old-moneyed Fair Hollow, N.Y., when her lakeside encounter with the enigmatic Jack Fata attracts the enmity of his powerful family, particularly the ageless, calculating Reiko Fata. Finn’s awkward and ghost-ridden but growing romance with Jack soon proves inseparable from the machinations of the “children of nothing and night,” especially after she enlists Jack’s help to save classmate Nathan Clare from the centennial Teind. Soon Finn confronts a prediction that she herself will die on Halloween. The climax detonates one too many reversals, revelations, and fight scenes after the lengthy buildup of dreamy mystery, but fantasy fans will find much to savor in Harbour’s delicate, myth-conscious prose. Loose ends suggest a sequel. [em]Agent: Thao Le, Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency. (July) [/em]