Say My Name

Huston’s captivating debut features a woman who discovers love with a much younger man, only to realize that in doing so she uncovers her own sense of independence. Eve Federman is a garden designer in her late 40s living in New Jersey with her husband, Larry. On an excursion to New York City, she sees Robert Burnett, her older brother Bill’s best friend and college roommate before Bill committed suicide decades earlier. With Robert is his son, 28-year-old Micajah, who was just a baby when Bill died. Though Eve is intensely attracted to Micajah, an up-and-coming rock musician whose arresting beauty is almost irresistible, she is initially determined not to act on her attraction, especially since he is young enough to be her son. But he takes the lead and she relents to his seduction, desperate to feel passion that has been missing in her marriage. Through their affair, Eve discovers her uninhibited nature as she becomes both physically and emotionally attached to Micajah. Yet when disturbing events cause her to distance herself from him, she learns that she has an inner strength she never thought she possessed. Huston’s novel is well plotted and full of satisfying emotional moments, resulting in an auspicious debut. (Jan.)