Panic Blood

Eva Marquand, heroine of this buoyant, erotically energized novel (by the author of Love Me Tender and co-editor of Between C & D ), came to New York from France at 17, and is ensconced in romantically seedy Times Square. Eva's lusty lover Johnny is a tough and tender leather-clad guitarist, an ``urban warrior born of the asphalt jungle.'' Supporting her young daughter Mimi (the fruit of a four-year liaison with black musician Frank Jackson, who deserted her), Eva both revels in her femininity and feels captive to it, her identity determined by her sexual and maternal needs and the blood of her womb--the title's significance. The matriarchal theme gets support from the role of Eva's older friend Albertine, who cares for Mimi. Cabaret singer Eva pursues a phone-sex sideline as ``Lola, the fantasy queen,'' which sours when a client, possibly an AIDS-infected rapist, follows her to her hotel. When cool, manipulative Frank turns up, demanding Mimi, Eva's already precarious world is thrown into chaos. French-born Texier, now living in New York, dedicates the novel to her compatriot Celine, whose visceral frankness and sordid vision of urban life clearly inspired her. However, Texier's message is more upbeat. (Apr.)