A Cold Night for Alligators

While the plot of Canadian author Crowe’s rewarding first novel hinges on actual and attempted murder, it is more about coming to terms with the past than crime solving. Jasper, a 26-year-old Toronto resident, is leading a dull life until a schizophrenic man pushes him onto the subway tracks during his daily commute. After Jasper wakes from a seven-month coma, he receives a call from the police in Fort Meyers, Fla., who reported that a homeless man has given them Jasper’s number as an emergency contact. Jasper wonders if it might be his older brother, Coleman, who grew increasingly strange as a teenager before disappearing without a trace. In search of answers, he and two friends make a raucous road trip to Florida, where he finds his goodhearted aunt, her musical meth-addict husband, and clues to Coleman’s disintegration and disappearance. Crowe’s voice is sharply funny, but the story has real depth and poignancy as well as a sardonic punch. Agent: Jeff Alpern, the Alpern Group. (June)