The Hallie Lawrence Story

Walter's first novel is a hip and glamorous cautionary tale of obsessive love. The son of egomaniac symphony conductor Alfred and ``elegant Jewish-American socialite'' Lily, Hallie Lawrence is the product of the right schools and other prerogatives of the Manhattan upper crust. A successful career as an entertainment lawyer and a few empty romances leave him unfulfilled until he meets stunningly blonde Martha Housewright; within days, the impetuous lovers decide to marry. As the wedding looms, Hallie becomes both furious and frantic as he learns about Martha's past: she had been a model in Paris, posed in nude scenes in a film and lived with the famous European film director Malcolm Ferrari. When Hallie's talented and beautiful client, Russian violinist Nikki Mikhailovitch, is cast in one of Malcolm's movies, the ensuing emotional pinball game stretches an insanely jealous Hallie to new limits. Walter relies heavily on her experience as a writer of screenplays; descriptions of scenery are lush and at times overly detailed. The narrative's pace is slowed by the numerous and too-similar intimate scenes between Martha and Hallie, and much of the ending is foreshadowed. Still, this is a creditable debut into the world of romance fiction. (Mar.)