KISS OF THE WOLF

Tense, heartbreaking family drama with an underworld angle— for his fourth novel, Shepard returns to the world of Flights (1983): Italian-Americans in small-town Connecticut. Joanie Muhlberg is a good woman who makes bad choices, choices like Gary Muhlberg and Bruno Minea. Husband Gary has just left her and 11-year-old Todd, gone out west, no warning signs, and Joanie is all shaken up. Now Bruno, who's been stuck on her since Catholic school more than 20 years ago, is making his move, and Joanie is encouraging him. If Gary was a ``washout,'' Bruno is really bad news. A car salesman, he has clawed his way up from the bottom; his philosophy is don't get mad, get even. Gary, Bruno: bad choices. But the doozy comes when Joanie, driving too fast at night with Todd, knocks a guy down and then, panicking, leaves the scene, a hit-and-run. Altar boy Todd is deeply shocked by his mom's behavior and subsequent coverup; their rift is the heart of the novel. But guilt-ridden Joanie must deal with more than her alienated son. The dead man was a small-time hood, involved in a racket with Bruno, and some money is missing from the crime scene. Bruno, guessing Joanie was the driver, becomes convinced she's stolen it; the woman of his dreams is playing him for a sucker and must be punished. As the angel of death draws close, Shepard takes the suspense right down to the wire: the final paragraph is a knockout. Joanie, her fretful mother Nina, and the tormented Todd are all caught in the klieg lights of their demanding religion, leaving Bruno in outer darkness; meanwhile, the action is grounded in gritty dialogue faithful to every intonation. Grab this one.