Stoneflowers

Chance's first novel features a lusty modern heroine, a powerful style and the sort of psychological insight that marked Stronger Than Death , her nonfiction account of how she coped with the suicide of her 25-year-old son. Set in West Texas and shuttling back and forth from the 1960s to the present, the story follows Miri McDaniel, a sculptor, and her new neighbor, Lucius Sutherland, a black Vietnam vet. Miri and Lucius each suffer from a tragic past: he was trapped in a cave in Vietnam and now fears the dark and small spaces; she was sexually abused by her father as a child and grew up to see her son kill himself at age 25. As Miri and Lucius grow closer, they face bigotry, misunderstandings and the trauma of a car accident in which Lucius's daughter-in-law and a granddaughter are killed. The long flashbacks sometimes interrupt continuity, and Chance's stocking-stuffer approach to plotting can irritate: incest, a near-murder, paraplegia, suicide, sadism and alcoholism are all dealt with, as are Miri's three husbands and two past lovers. Nevertheless, the main characters are vital, the love scenes are fiery and the ending is satisfying. (Aug.)