A Deep Disturbance

Reading this mystery is like getting a soy burger when you really want red meat. Fleeing her coke-head husband because he's taken pornographic photos of their daughters, Madeleine Rafferty packs up her kids and heads to an old barn she's leased in the Adirondacks. Madeleine's accommodating boss aids his star editor by commissioning a novel, allowing her to work at home. As she begins to write her own historical romance, the action of this novel heats up: she meets the barn's owner, Harry Littlefield, rooting around the property for his missing ex-wife--whose decomposed body Madeleine finds later. Because none of the supporting characters, including Madeleine, truly believe Mrs. Littlefield was murdered, there is no unified focus until Madeleine's children are in peril, but by then much of the narrative has elapsed. Rauch's ( The Spy on Riverside Drive ) less-than absorbing plot and sweet but uncomplicated characters won't hold the interest of a reader in the mood for a real whodunit. (Nov.)