Best Intentions

This first novel by Lehrer (wife of Jim Lehrer of the PBS McNeil-Lehrer News Hour centers around Sarah Adams, journalist and host of her own prestigious Washington, D.C., television program. Sarah is at a crisis point; the driving egoism integral to her success has become her betrayer, prompting her to launch an unpopular investigation of a respected Washington figure who slighted her, and leading her into a tumultuous relationship with her daughter Leslie. She also makes increasingly heavy demands on her earnest assistant, Courtney, who narrates the story, enlisting her as an ally in the mother/daughter feud. The simmering emotions finally erupt into tragedy when Leslie is found dead. In the denouement, Courtney unravels the mystery, along the way finding the strength to live her own life. While the up-close views of Washington's power parties and canny dealings have the ring of authenticity, the book founders on its many weaknesses. The writing is flat; the characters, with the exception of Sarah, are two-dimensional; and the action, late getting under way, doesn't succeed in moving this narrative out of the doldrums. (June 17)