Alibi Creek

A solid, if slightly heavy-handed saga set in the wilds of New Mexico, Magennis’s novel chronicles the family of the rather unconvincingly pious Lee Ann, whose routine on the Walker Ranch is upended by the return of her prodigal brother, Walker, just released from jail. Lee Ann had enough on her hands already, juggling the care of their ailing mother with her job at the corrupt Dax County Commissioner’s office. She’s resented her golden-boy brother from the get-go, and now he’s back causing the same commotion he did as a kid. Her husband, Eugene—not the father of her two sturdy sons, but a loving and stable replacement dad—gets fed up with Walker, and after Walker and his ex-wife pull a fast one on Owen Plank, their neighbor, selling Plank’s land out from under him, Eugene leaves Lee Ann in disgust, claiming she lets her brother, her job, her God—everything but him—pull her strings. Matters escalate with the inevitable confrontation between the siblings. The author’s metaphors are a bit obvious, but Lee Ann is a heroine readers will root for. [em]Agent: Susan Schulman, Susan Schulman Literary Agency. (Mar.) [/em]