Mimi Malloy at Last

MacDonnell’s second novel, which comes a full 20 years after her first, A Year of Favor, features Maire “Mimi” Malloy, née Sheehan—a lively, brave, but socially disconnected older woman forced into retirement and traded in by her husband for a newer model. Despite all this, Mimi loves her cocktails, her Frank Sinatra, and her independence in an apartment in downtown Quincy, Mass. When her sister Patty begins a project to chronicle the Sheehans’ history for the benefit of their children, the family gangs up on Mimi, who hates talking about the past, and persuades her to recount her version of what really happened after her mother died and her father married a “cailleach,” or healer, newly arrived from Ireland. His new wife was the epitome of the wicked stepmother, and when Mimi’s sister Fagan, who wouldn’t kowtow to her, disappeared, the remaining children were told that she was sent to live with relatives back in Ireland. Mimi is engaging enough to make up for the book’s flaws, which include a distracting use of present tense and a conclusion to the family’s story that disturbingly lacks justice. The conclusion may be realistic, but it still rankles. The novel’s dialogue, family dynamics, and voice are all strong; its plot and resolution could use work. Agent: Janet Rosen, Sheree Bykofsky Associates. (Apr.)