Beecher

Artist O'Neal's first novel is a lackluster mystery involving the Indiana landscape painter Beecher Hornbeck's visit to Italy for his one-man exhibition at the prestigious gallery of Guido Brazzano. There he meets Cristina Brazzano, whose late husband was Guido's favorite son, and his slow awakening to her charms is clouded by lingering memories of his murdered wife, Myra--particularly after he thinks he sees Myra in Rome. A man has been following Beecher; finally he contacts Beecher and promises to reveal information about Myra. When the seedy investigator is killed at Beecher's hotel door, his last words hint at the significance of the ancient connection between Myra's family and the Rossettis of artistic fame. Instead of delivering drama with the expected shadings of the international art world and some Italian color contrasted with Beecher's Indiana background, the plot flounders in amateurish composition and description, veering from the wildly improbable to the downright silly. (Nov.)