Dead of Wynter

Alice Wynter left her childhood home of Redding, Maine as soon as she could, in favor of a comfortable new life working as a successful marketing executive and married to a Wall Street attorney. Since leaving, she's had no thought of returning for anything%E2%80%94or anyone%E2%80%94but her twin brother, a troubled alcoholic. Now, rapidly approaching middle age, Alice's father winds up dead and her brother, missing, in Seidel's modest debut. Though Alice's relationship with both family members have been complex, she returns, alone, to pick up the pieces of their life%E2%80%94and hers. As her brother's history reveals itself in vignettes from 1984, his and Alice's last year in school, the pieces fit together to reveal just what Alice was running from back then. Nothing, however, will likely prepare the reader for the terrible truths that Alice is forced to confront as the final pieces fall into place. Fairly well-drawn characters, romance, a creepy twist, a plot that thuds along, and loads of psychosexual drama amount to a somewhat clunky but effective thrill ride. (May)