Death of the Black-Haired Girl

In Stone’s novel, set in a New England college town, brilliant, beautiful and raven-haired student Maud Stack, after having been told by professor Steven Brookman that their affair was history, wanders carelessly and fatally into the path of an oncoming car. Was it an accident, a suicide, or something darker? Colacci’s handling of the characters is spot on from the start. He adds a subtle touch of passivity to Brookman’s speech, while Maud’s father is gruff and wheezy, as might be expected of an aging, fatally ill ex-cop from New York City. But there’s more to Colacci’s interpretation; he perfectly captures the mournful moan of a father’s sorrow and the growl of a man on a deadly mission. Other characters are rendered with similar care, including Maud, whose initial ebullience quickly turns to petulance and edgy anger after Brookman’s rejection. [em]A Houghton Mifflin Harcourt hardcover. (Nov.) [/em]