The Connellys of County Down

In Lange’s moving latest (after We Are the Brennans), family secrets threaten to upend a recent parolee’s new life in Port Chester, N.Y. Released from prison after serving 525 days for transporting stolen opioids, Tara Connelly moves in with her sister, Geraldine, who’s already putting up their brother, Eddie, and his young son. Tara needs their help, but her siblings have their own problems to deal with—Geraldine, an office manager at a payroll company, has fallen behind at work, and Eddie has migraines from a teenage car accident. Complicating Tara’s new life is a by-the-book parole officer, Doreen DaCosta, and Hank Doyle, a detective determined to use Tara to bring down her ex-boyfriend Roland Shea, the drug dealer whose pills she was caught with. A dangerous romance slowly blossoms between Tara and Brian Nolan, Hank’s nephew and fellow detective who feels guilty over Tara’s sentence, as he’d hoped to get her off in exchange for her cooperation. After Tara visits Roland, DaCosta grills her for violating her parole; revelations about Geraldine and Eddie further jeopardize her freedom. Tara is a flawed heroine worth rooting for and her romance with Brian an affecting one. Like Stewart O’Nan, the author conjures human moments with a convincing naturalistic style. This emotionally charged story delivers the goods. Agent: Stephanie Cabot, Susanna Lea Assoc. (Aug.)