The Courtship Gift

Following her well-received debut (Mary, Mary), Parsons pairs her intelligent style with a heroine to match, throws in a villain with a compellingly creepy courting ritual culled from the insect kingdom and comes up with another winning psychological suspense thriller. When Dublin solicitor David Neale is found dead of anaphylactic shock brought about by a bee sting, his entomologist wife, Anna, can't quite believe it. After all, David knew he was allergic and avoided bees assiduously. Upon discovering a package that was delivered to David on the day of his death, Anna's suspicions are heightened. Soon, however, her idyllic memories of her late husband are spoiled as she learns he was living a secret life rife with lies, corruption and other women. Isolated in her widowhood, Anna falls vulnerable to the charms of handsome Matthew Makepiece, ostensibly a real estate developer but in reality the enigmatic, chilling and masterfully seductive villain who the reader already knows has been watching Anna from the beginning. When he offers her the key, will Anna be bold enough to open the Pandora's box of Matthew's past? Can she cope with the ugly truths that she may find there? Parsons skillfully strikes gothic notes here and there, lending a traditional dimension to the modern tale. The inclusion of scientific metaphors referring to astronomy or the mating rituals of bees is sometimes heavy-handed, yet adds a stimulating twist to an otherwise straightforward plot. Fans of Thomas Harris and James Patterson should be pleased with the ick factor behind the ""gift"" that Matthew bestows upon women before bedding them. (Mar.)