Blameless

Lemmons's latest intermingles a contemporary tale about injustice with references to Nathaniel Hawthorne's life and writing, and sprinkles the story with symbolic references to Job. Dr. Alexis Hartnett is a tough, divorced college dean who becomes enamored of the cynical, divorced professor Joe Barnes. Joe has a mysterious past, evinced by a 12-year gap in his teaching experience, and Hartnett's assistant Lucille "Lucy" Conn, who dislikes Joe, is on the warpath to discover his secrets. Snippets from Joe's manuscript on Hawthorne that speak to his tenuous situation at the school are woven throughout, and predictable pearls of wisdom are offered from Alexis's minister's sermons Lemmons (Jabez ; Daughters of Faith series) never builds a convincing case for why Lucy is so determined to investigate Joe's past, which should be a pivotal plot element. The author's descriptions can become awkward; loneliness "plumed out of his pores like cheap perfume," and windshield wipers screech across the icy windshield "like twin metronomes from hell." However, Lemmons does well painting the camaraderie between academics, and depicting their trials and tribulations. Some faith fiction readers will appreciate his look at God and the problem of unjust suffering. (Mar.)