Multiple Listing

In addition to keeping her low-power advertising agency afloat, Sydney Teague copes with sole responsibility for two incredibly well-adjusted teenagers, Alcoholics Anonymous meetings she dare not miss, and an old beau--handily, a policeman--chasing her, ostensibly for a game of tennis. Through one of Sydney's real-estate clients, a thief-rapist-murderer has gained access to supposedly secure locks in homes listed on the market in Raleigh, N.C. Extremely literate brief musings by the perp as each crime occurs point up the dark side of bland and smiling suburbia. A super ending tops off this series debut, which, if it lacks something of the regional atmosphere, does introduce a likable narrator with a serviceable sense of humor and a great deal going on in her life besides crime. (Feb.)