The Girl in the Photograph

This fourth novel from Donnelly (All Done with Mirrors) begins as an intriguing study of a long-buried family secret and then unfortunately veers into religious polemic about the nature of sin. After her father's funeral in Chicago, independent, irreverent Allegra O'Riordan finds an unusual photo of her mother, Theresa, among his effects. Theresa, whom Allegra remembers (though she was only three when her mother died) as an unsmiling, reserved woman, appears in the photo as a sensual, bold, laughing vision of loveliness. More shocking is the photo's inscription--to ""darling Ted,"" a name unknown to Allegra. Deeply puzzled, she flies to Theresa's native L.A. to find out about her mother's past, and the narrative turns into a lively page-turner. The author intends us, presumably, to be shocked at the revelation of the ""secret""--the terrible ""sin"" that changed Theresa forever. But what is more disconcerting is her daughter's reaction to the discovery. Instead of feeling compassion for her mother's tragedy, Allegra suddenly becomes the kind of intolerant, self-righteous person that she purports to despise. It is a disappointing ending to what is otherwise a detailed, intelligent portrait of an Irish-American Catholic family. (Sept.)