Mistaken identity and a decades-old coverup collide in this underwhelming Southern thriller from Abrahams (Nerve Damage
) set in the wake of a Katrina-like hurricane. Nell Jarreau's eyewitness testimony sent Alvin “Pirate” DuPree to prison for the murder of her then-boyfriend, Johnny Blanton. Twenty years later, Nell is shocked when a mysterious tape surfaces that exonerates DuPree. Warned by her husband, Clay—the lead detective on Johnny's case and now the chief of police of Belle Ville, a New Orleans–like city—to leave the case alone, Nell is haunted by her role in imprisoning an innocent man. When an old reporter friend resurfaces to research the DuPree story, and Nell's daughter, Norah, who is Johnny's biological child, starts behaving oddly, Nell realizes she must uncover Johnny's true killer before her life spins out of control. Guilt or innocence aside, DuPree is a highly unlikable and inarticulate character, while Nell herself is too one-dimensional to carry the dramatic weight of the story. Fans of Abrahams's complex earlier novels will hope for a return to form next time. (Apr.)
