The Deep End

Fielding (Kiss Mommy Goodbye explores the seemingly inexorable disintegration of a middle-aged Long Island woman's life in this chilling, suspenseful tale. Subservient, self-deprecating Joanne Hunter suddenly becomes inundated by traumas. First, her husband moves out of their house to slake his restlessness and dissatisfaction. Stunned by his abrupt departure, Joanne seeks support from her best friend and neighbor, psychology professor Eve Stanley, but Eve now suffers from some unidentified illness which she believes is fatal. Eve frantically insists that debilitating pains wrack her body, although her husband tells Joanne that they are psychosomatic ailments. While these crises unfold, senility plagues Joanne's beloved grandfather, and her two adolescent daughters bicker incessantly. Most unnerving of all are the inexplicable threatening phone calls that Joanne receives at the same time that someone dubbed ""the Suburban Strangler'' terrorizes Long Island. Fielding neatly delineates Joanne's fear, loneliness, and the courage with which she confronts her problems. Paperback rights to NAL; Doubleday Book Club dual main selection; Reader's Digest Condensed Books selection; Literary Guild alternate. (March 21)