The Singular Exploits of Wonder Mom & Party Girl

Audrey Corcoran, the heroine of this slight novel hobbled by its overbearing morality, has two daughters, a thankless job, and an ex-husband who is dating a younger woman. Most of the people at her workplace dabble in recreational drug use, but not Audrey: she's always been a good girl, until one night when, on a date with local restaurant owner Owen, she tries cocaine. Almost immediately, Audrey slips into daily usage, starts spending money irresponsibly, gets high around her children, and, when money eventually becomes an issue, deals cocaine from her house. At first it seems harmless, but then she realizes how dangerous the drug world really is. While some passages are funny in their absurdity, the humor quickly dissipates as the narrative finger wagging reaches a fever pitch and all but screams to just say no. Schuster can turn out a nice sentence, but it is difficult to see what he hopes readers will get out of this other than the message that drugs are bad. (June)