Broken Wings

Tulsa's jazz past meets the present in an issue-oriented tale from Stewart (Chasing Lilacs). Mitzi Steiner has enjoyed a 60-year marriage and successful singing partnership with her husband, Gabe. In their later years, Gabe lives in the twilight of Alzheimer's. Volunteering as a "Pink Lady" at a hospital to keep herself busy, Mitzi is deeply affected when Brooke Woodson arrives in the ER, bearing signs of domestic abuse, signs Mitzi recognizes from her childhood. The former jazz singer and the young woman, a paralegal engaged to an ambitious lawyer with an explosive temper, form a bond as each shares her story. Mitzi's tale, narrated in flashback, works. Her past is filled with color, and her present is poignant. Brooke's story is less persuasive; as she moves from battered passivity to strength, characters in the abuse plot thread%E2%80%94her fianc%C3%A9's aunt, her father%E2%80%94are less than credible. The fresher story is grounded in history and in Alzheimer's, a tough subject in life and fiction. In her sophomore novel, Stewart stumbles with the contemporary elements; she should concentrate on her strength with history. (June)