Nightfall

In this domestic thriller by the author of Secrets , unforeseen danger invades a previously safe world. High school English teacher Rebecca Leighton leads a calm, even boring life in a quiet Connecticut town until an anonymous stalker begins threatening her. Her tormentor paints her skylights black, destroys her garden and laces her tea with LSD. Though the police say they can't help, one enigmatic detective is drawn to both Rebecca and her case. Could Ray, the strangely secretive man with whom she has just ended an affair, be the source of these horrifying pranks, or is the culprit his troubled son, who blames all his misery on his father's girlfriend? Further complicating Rebecca's life is the depression and strange behavior of her best friend, Agnes. By the time Rebecca discovers the identity of her stalker, her sedate existence has been permanently altered, in some ways for the better. Marlowe successfully depicts the danger and mental instability that lie just beneath the surface of small-town life, and her narrative style is smooth. However, her story lacks the vividness of character and degree of action needed to build an atmosphere of terror. (May)