Mass Market Notes

Police corruption and violence abound in Fatal Truth, Robin Burcell's second novel (after Every Move She Makes) starring San Francisco homicide inspector Kate Gillespie. On the way to meet with a snitch, Kate witnesses his murder. The culprit, a corrupt narcotics investigator, turns up dead several hours later. Unsure of whom she can trust, Kate turns to her ex-partner, PI Sam Scolari, and Mike Torrance, an internal affairs detective and former romantic flame. Both men assist Kate as she investigates the two killings and discovers some surprising links to a 12-year-old scandal involving her brother, his wife and their young son. Through sharp, staccato prose, Burcell delivers a taut police procedural stuffed with law enforcement jargon and exhilarating action sequences. (Avon, $6.50 288p ISBN 0-06-106123-9)

An earnest and affecting portrait of life in the magical seaside town of Hubbard's Point, Conn., Luanne Rice's True Blue finds childhood friends Rumer Larkin and Zeb Mayhew torn apart by a seemingly insurmountable betrayal—Zeb married Rumer's older sister, Elizabeth, instead of her. Now, after a 20-year absence, a bitter divorce and a life-altering expedition aboard a space station, Zeb has returned to the Point seeking forgiveness and maybe something more. The themes of sisterhood and friendship that appear here are common threads in Rice's novels (Safe Harbor, etc.), as is the sense that there's an ethereal force guiding the lives of the Point's inhabitants. With its graceful prose, full-bodied characters and atmospheric setting, this uplifting and enchanting tale is likely to become a beachside staple. (Bantam, $7.50 492p ISBN 0-553-58398-0)