Criminal Seduction

North's sizable and ambitious debut, a suspense thriller seen through the eyes of an aspiring true-crime writer, has its roots in a turgid and improbable family melodrama set in the hinterlands of Kansas. Failing cattle rancher and amateur novelist Owen Byrne comes to New York to cover a juicy court case involving the alleged murder of famous artist Bram Serian by his Eurasian wife Lenore. But life in rural Kansas hasn't prepared Owen for the politics of the Manhattan art world or the baroque complexities of the Serians' marriage. He finds himself passionately drawn to the widow, and when he comes to stay at the crumbling gothic estate she shared with her husband, they begin a torrid affair in spite of the fact that she is still under indictment. Determined to clear her name, Owen discovers a myriad of secrets; revelations about Bram Serian's troubled childhood on a Witchita farm lead to a startling discovery concerning the artist's true identity and the reason for his brutal death. While key elements of the plot are so farfetched that readers may feel emotionally manipulated, North keeps his potboiler moving quickly, and the narrative is compelling for its treatment of emotional ambiguity and cultural dislocation. Literary Guild selection. (Sept.)