Family Blessings

Ordinary people coming to grips with real problems are handled with a sure, restrained touch that makes this latest novel from the bestselling author of Bygones a moving tale. When Greg Reston, a young policeman in the small Minnesota town of Anoka, is killed in an automobile accident, it is up to his best friend and fellow officer Chris Lallek to break the news to Greg's widowed mother Lee. In the months following the tragedy, Chris proves invaluable to the Reston family, as a surrogate brother to Greg's siblings Janice, 23, and Joey, 14, and a source of unwavering emotional strength for all of them. But underlying his devotion is a clandestine and highly charged affair with the 45-year-old Lee, 15 years his senior. Is their need for each other really love, or is it simply comfort for two grieving people? When Chris proposes marriage, Lee must consider not only her judgmental mother and prudish sister, but also Janice, who has developed a crush on Chris. Spencer depicts the Reston clan with empathy, presenting fully dimensional characters with carefully limned vulnerabilities and hostilities. While residing safely within the parameters of romance fiction, this novel has an appealing candor that transcends the genre. Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club main selections. (Jan.)