A bunch of valuable bearer bonds are at the rather prosaic heart of this stock market suspense novel by Glass (Over His Dead Body
). When stockbroker Annie Custer's wealthy best friend, Carol, begs her to pick up bond certificates from Carol's elderly parents in Staten Island, Annie knows she should say no. There's already bad blood between the two families after a bitter lawsuit pitting Annie's husband against Carol's husband, and Annie is leaving herself open to charges of theft. But Annie needs all the business she can get—her husband, Ben, is suffering from PTSD after escaping the World Trade Center collapse and Annie is the sole support of their two teenage daughters—so she picks up the bonds. Sure enough, Carol's father, Dean Teath, a crotchety miser, accuses Annie of stealing securities worth a quarter of a million dollars and threatens to sue her firm. Annie's boss, Brian, provides crucial support, but it soon becomes clear he expects payback. On the home front, Annie is distancing herself from Ben; her eldest daughter decides to forgo college; and her youngest daughter is experimenting with drugs. Annie's vividly sketched domestic crises are more involving than the lethargic twists and turns of the bond incident in this financial thriller turned family drama. Agent, Deborah Schneider at Gelfman Schneider. (Dec. 28)
