No Attachments

Ashton Garrison and Nathan Lockton both harbor secrets and hide behind high emotional walls in this somewhat uneven contemporary from King (Wishing for Someday Soon). Ashton fled a life of privilege in Florida for shadowy reasons; she settles on sweet little Woodfalls, Maine, as the place to hide out from some unknown challenge. She begins a no-strings-attached sexual affair with a stranger, Nathan, a man with an equally murky background who’s also passing through Woodfalls. The reader quickly learns that Nathan has been hired to find Ashton, which intensifies the situation. The layered story is told in chapters with alternating first-person viewpoints that add depth to the characterization. Smalltown vignettes provide occasions for genuine humor and act as a counterweight to the acute emotional pain covered up by the protagonists. Steamy sex scenes and tender feelings enliven the plot, but it’s hampered by weak motivations and some unbelievable side characters. (Aug.)