cover image Watching Vanessa

Watching Vanessa

Patricia M. Tiffin. Baskerville Publishers, $22 (0pp) ISBN 978-1-880909-54-6

Once a month, Kate Greerson, 35, a recently divorced graphic artist, gets together with three of her four closest friends-Vanessa, Oola and Annie-for lunch in Manhattan. In this snappy and vivid first novel, the sarcastic, self-deceiving Kate is shown spiraling deeper and deeper into alcoholism. Soon, however, Kate and her chums also have an external demon to confront: Jake Romano, a stalker who threatens the whole group. Romano, a suave and handsome 37-year-old documentary filmmaker, at first appeals to the glamorous and beautiful Vanessa, a literature professor and successful horror-novel writer. They meet at one of Vanessa's lectures and begin dating. Shortly thereafter, Vanessa begins to feel she's being watched. Hang-up phone calls and flowers unaccompanied by cards escalate to malicious damage of her car and signs that a stranger has been inside her home. Kate, who doesn't like Jake from their first meeting, stays with Vanessa, and the two women fend off a knife-wielding assailant in the basement of Vanessa's home. Unprotected by the police, the women decide to take matters into their own hands. Though muddy at times, the plot is tense, rich and especially compelling when dealing with Kate's alcoholism. Riveting drinking scenes tighten the screws as a terrifyingly out-of-control Jake eventually targets Vanessa while reserving a special venom for the tough yet achingly vulnerable Kate. Tiffin's conversational prose makes this novel-""Baskerville's first fictional offering aimed at a mass audience,'' according to promo-a real page-turner and a promising debut. (Feb.)