THE SISTER CIRCLE

Sisterhood provides endless fodder for fiction, and when you combine this timeworn topic with the CBA market's current inclination to bring a nonfiction author and an up-and-coming novelist together to pen a series, some healthy skepticism is in order. In the first installment of the Sister Circle series, newly widowed 56-year-old Evelyn Peerbaugh must take in boarders to make ends meet. Her rooms fill up with a motley crew—Mae Fitzpatrick, an aging hippie who drives a old VW bug and runs a jewelry business called Silver-Wear; single mom Audra Taylor and her precocious five-year-old daughter, Summer; and the elderly Tessa Klein, a harsh Christian widow—described by Evelyn's horrified son Russell as "an overaged floozy, an unwed mother, an illegitimate child, and a judgmental grandma." Throw in her frequent visitors, and Evelyn is soon popping antacids like candy. Unfortunately, the plot is fairly hackneyed—there's the mandatory evangelical Christian conversion scene, and readers can see the groundwork being laid for predictable developments in future installments. The novel's strength is in its multifaceted and sometimes unexpected characterizations: Tessa, for example, though the only practicing Christian residing in the household, is also the least lovable character. Moser, as she did in The Seat Beside Me, showcases her ability to pull off multiple characters and points of view without losing the pacing of the story. However, like her previous book, this one suffers from some preachy passages in places where a more subtle touch might have proven more effective. (Feb.)

Forecast:Despite the occasional heavy-handedness, and with Bright's well-known name tagged with Moser's, this series should do well in the CBA market.