Montana

Journalist Florio’s outstanding first novel introduces foreign correspondent Lola Wicks. When Lola’s newspaper pulls her out of Afghanistan and assigns her to irrelevant suburbia, she plans to sneak back to Kabul, but first she decides to visit Mary Alice Carr, a friendly former colleague who’s settled happily in the Montana boondocks. After stumbling on Mary Alice’s corpse, Lola soon encounters a fledgling sheriff who labels her a material witness, a glad-handing Blackfoot candidate for governor with murky campaign finances, and a studly rancher who’s only too happy to make her feel welcome. She begins pursuing the leads Mary Alice was working on as a local reporter, discovering that the major corruption and mortal danger she became used to overseas are just somewhat better hidden in the peaceful American countryside. Quirky and cantankerous, Lola is grudgingly willing to learn from experience. Believable action complements razor-sharp observations of people and scenery. Agent: Barbara Braun, Barbara Braun Associates. (Oct.)