This interesting but uneven debut novel from the author of the story collection Glow in the Dark
limns the passionate romance between thrice married and divorced Floridian Ray and artsy, cinnamon-skinned Californian Ruby, whose paths cross fortuitously in Alaska, where each has gone to escape considerable troubles. Well-liked and attractive handyman Ray has killed someone—"a murder of principle"—and has also inherited the estate of a man who picked him randomly out of the phone book; this eases Ray's financial life but brings other complications. Kids television animator Ruby lived on the estate of best friend/former porn star Jeannie and had the misfortune of discovering the corpses of Jeannie's beloved dogs (shot) and their dog walker, Chauncey (raped and murdered). Alaska, Ray and hot sex save Ruby from misery, but an untimely dive from a Florida pier leaves her in a coma. Here, the tension diminishes, as Ruby's family arrives to bicker about the situation while Ray anxiously waits by her side. Teasley never delivers on the potential drama of Ray's crime being discovered (turns out he killed this "mythically evil scum" who raped his best friend), though she drops a few tantalizing tidbits along the way. The ending is a bit too pat, with the arrival of Ray and Ruby's baby into a cocoon of their parents' growing personal fulfillment, but the characters are well crafted, especially Alaska friend Abbie, and the novel is a generally entertaining diversion that sustains its own mystery. West Coast author tour
. (Mar.)
