cover image Orient

Orient

Christopher Bollen. Harper, $26.99 (624p) ISBN 978-0-06-232995-0

An affluent Long Island town is the setting for secret affairs and multiple murders in Bollen’s big and ambitious second novel (after Lightning People). The catalyst for all of these misdeeds is a young “foster-care kid” named Mills Chevern, who finds a surrogate mother in Beth Shepherd, lifelong resident and failed artist. When local handyman Jeff Trader washes up on shore with a rope around his neck, foul play is suspected. Adding fuel to the fire is a big creepy creature, resembling a whale but black and disfigured so as to be unrecognizable, found on a beach. Locals connect these events to suspected nefarious doings by the Orient Historical Board and a nearby chemical plant. Wealthy dowager Magdalena convinces Beth to check out Jeff’s place for evidence of murder; when she visits the old woman to report what she’s found, she learns that Magdalena is dead. Beth begins investigating in earnest, with Mills as her wingman. Bollen is at his best when incisively depicting the self-delusions and prejudices of this remote community. Though packed with plot, this expansive novel falls a bit flat when all’s said and done. Agent: Bill Clegg, the Clegg Agency. (May)