Alamo Heights

First-time novelist Zesch offers a lively fictionalized version of a latter-day Battle of the Alamo, a spirited struggle to save the historical Texas landmark that actually took place in the early 1900s, led by fiery Adina de Zavala and unconventional novelist and philanthropist Clara Driscoll. The character modeled on Adina is Rose De Le n Herrera, socialite wife of an up-and-coming attorney whose grandfather was an Alamo martyr. The parallel Driscoll character is Alva Carson Keane, romance novelist and heiress of a father who divested the De Le ns of their property years before. The two women struggle to save the Alamo from greedy hotel magnates and corrupt politicians who want to raze a portion of the old mission. The narrative reads rapidly and suspensefully in spite of pervasive anachronistic details. The dialogue is problematic: the characters don't converse; they make speeches. An unresolved subplot involves Rose's son and the daughter of ne'er-do-well street musicians, offering some spice but little credibility. Written with broad strokes and shallow characterization, the novel lacks the depth of its historical inspiration. The plot, however, is tightly woven, revealing a world of female socialites that brims with intrigue and politics. (Apr.)