Polmena Cove

Following an intriguing prologue, Lide (The Homecoming) raises the curtain on her setting-a romantic, post-WWI Cornwall-and principal characters, Em Trevarisk and her younger cousin Lily Polleven. During a walk on the coast, the girls discover a squatter in the Polmena Cove bungalow-the site of Lily's illegitimate birth and the common link of several intertwining story lines. Flighty Lily matures quickly as she first resists the war-injured squatter (who may possibly have a lawful claim over the Cove), but then she faces her growing attraction and helps him to fight the cove's despoilation. Also on hand is Lily's nasty brother, manipulated by his social-climbing girlfriend and by his grandfather, who plots to develop the disputed property as a resort. Cousin Em, meanwhile, needs all her stoic faith as she awaits signs of recovery in her shell-shocked former fiance. Lide's writing is thin, and she takes a long time to deliver on her prologue's suspenseful promise. Rapid shifts in viewpoint distract, and final scenes at a mine accident stretch credibility. And the most potentially interesting of the stories, that of the fishergirl and her soldier who parented Lily, remains untold. (Jan.)