Where Does Kissing End?

All is breathless and murky in this overblown boy-meets-girl tale from the author of When the Monster Dies. Mina is the illegitimate daughter of Harry and Lucy, both illegitimate themselves. Like much of the background material here, this fact is presented as though it has some urgency, not that it really does. Pullinger has an interesting, blunt style, but relies too much on the reader's being fascinated by sex--trouble is, the sex is just too dull. Mina, who grows up lonely and wearing too much makeup, sometimes blacks out when sexually excited, which, along with a lot of talk about blood, is supposed to lead you to think of her Bram Stoker namesake. Eventually, while working in a London travel agency and bopping around the world at whim, Mina meets Stephen, who falls for her hard. The two make an impromptu trip to New York together to engage in extensive bouts of sexual politicking. There are decidedly strange things going on in this relationship, but Stephen is mostly concerned that Mina is cheating on him. Mina might be some kind of underworld creature, but on the other hand, she might just be kind of insecure. Mostly, it is pretty hard to care. (Oct.)