DARK HARBOR

Compelling characters pulse through attorney Hosp's surprisingly engaging fiction debut. Why surprising? Because readers will think they've seen all this before, and more stylishly told: there's a gritty urban center (Boston) menaced by a serial killer (nicknamed "Little Jack" because of his similarities to the legendary Ripper) but protected by a tough cop (prickly police lieutenant Linda Flaherty). But Hosp works some wrinkles on the formula with a terrorist subplot and digs deep for complex portraits of Flaherty and a jittery suspect, lawyer Scott Finn. Finn was the last known person to see Natalie Caldwell, the killer's latest victim, alive: they were colleagues at the prestigious law firm as well as former lovers. At the time of her death, Natalie was defending a local security company against liability in the terrorist bombing of a commuter train. Grief over Natalie's death exacerbates Finn's feeling that he's in over his head, both with Natalie's case, which he inherits, and at the white shoe firm, where his humble roots and blue-collar affinities set him apart. Flaherty feels similarly besieged, though her demons are detective subordinates whom she can't completely trust or control. Hosp's plotting is shaggy and his book feels overlong, but by following his two protagonists into the mundane corners of their lives, he earns genuine empathy for these flawed human beings struggling to be both ethical and effective. Agent, Lisa Vance. (June)