cover image THE WINDMILL

THE WINDMILL

Stephanie Gertler, . . Dutton, $23.95 (258pp) ISBN 978-0-525-94800-1

Past misfortunes threaten to swamp a marriage in this weepy novel by Gertler (The Puzzle Bark Tree , etc.). When 58-year-old physics professor Carl Larkin disappears, leaving only a brief note ("I will explain. I promise. I'll call by Monday"), his 50-year-old wife, Olivia, a drama professor, plunges into the past, brooding over the death of her first husband, Noah, who was shot and killed in a holdup. Unable to bear her memories alone, she leaves the Massachusetts college town where she lives to stay with her parents on Cape Cod. Things aren't exactly cheery there, either, with her mother, Margaret, heroically caring for her Alzheimer's-afflicted father. But Margaret prods Olivia out of her gloomy introspection, forcing her to acknowledge that she's never let go of her feelings for Noah. Meanwhile, the missing Carl travels back to his North Carolina hometown, confronting the tragic past that made him flee his family at the age of 17. Gertler's evocation of Olivia's first, lost love is warm and poignant, but Carl's story is less convincing, and the couple's ultimate reunion comes out of nowhere. Though it's a pleasant enough read, this sentimental tale is hollow at the center. Agent, Marcy Posner Literary Agency. (Nov.)

Forecast: Gertler's novels haven't reaped many positive reviews since her well-received debut Jimmy's Girl, but readers keep buying her feel-good family fiction, and they'll likely follow suit here.