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Robinson establishes himself as a writer with a seductive, edgy voice in this dark debut collection of 11 stories set in and around the seaside town of Point Allison, Maine. Menacing authority figures play important roles in the early tales: in the title story, a pair of local miscreants inadvertently turn the tables on a heavy-handed cop when they goad him into a chase and the officer has a heart attack. "Diver" presents the plight of a picture-perfect young couple who are tormented by a teasingly malevolent local store owner who, as a diver, comes to their rescue when a rope is tangled in the propeller of their small yacht. The sense of menace and imminent danger ebbs in subsequent efforts, but Robinson adds a nice comic touch and some emotional depth in "Puckheads," a coming-of-age yarn about a pair of rowdy high school hockey players who develop an attraction for the same actress when they join the drama club for a production of Oliver Twist. There is more weird, off-kilter plotting in "Ride," which describes a father's attempt to celebrate his adolescent son's birthday by pulling off a jewelry heist with the boy in tow. Robinson goes to great lengths to establish his setting as a virtual character, although he never explains why Point Allison is so much more sinister than the neighboring towns on the Maine coast. The heavy, brooding atmosphere is another distinctive narrative element, although its effect begins to wear thin over the course of the collection. Keeping a judicious distance from his characters, Robinson allows ingenious plotting and scene-setting to drive these coolly absorbing stories. (Jan. 10)