HE'S GOT TO GO

In her first novel to be published in the U.S., O'Flanagan puts her initially stereotypical characters through so much good conversation—both sharp repartee and introspective soul searching—that they come to life. When we meet the Driscoll sisters of Dublin, Nessa, the responsible eldest, is a smug, nesting wife and mother; Cate, the perfectionist in the middle, is struggling with commitment to a man she doesn't trust; and Bree, the motorcycle-riding youngest, is wondering why she's never had a relationship that lasted more than three months. It isn't long before Nessa is unsettled by a rumor that her husband is having an affair, the newly and unsteadily coupled Bree is offering to run surveillance on him, and Cate's leavening the mix by proposing to her boyfriend. The sisters are always bickering (particularly bitterly when one sister considers an abortion), but there is no question that they'll stick together in the end. There is, however, some genuine suspense about which of their husbands and boyfriends will survive the denouement, and which, in the title phrase, "has got to go"—this in part because the male characters aren't as fully fleshed out as the female. Overall, O'Flanagan manages to keep wisdom and humor at the forefront and tosses in nice touches like chapter heads keyed into Nessa's interest in astrology—"Moon/Pluto Aspects: Changeable, Prone to Emotional Outbursts." (Jan.)