Trinity

Debut novelist Dearborn’s alien contact novel offers a strong story and evocative imagery muddled by unclear motivations and unsympathetic characters. Newly released New Mexico convict Valentine Slade reunites with his much younger girlfriend, Kate Fulton, despite threats from her state trooper brother. Val’s best friend from prison, Felix, also welcomes Val’s return—but with a different agenda, as Felix is the human host for an alien from a race with a longtime interest in Val’s family. Val’s obligations to his ailing mother and his parole officer tie him and Kate to the area, even as mysteriously mutilated bodies accumulate on their doorstep and Val’s physical condition deteriorates. Excerpts from a fictional investigative work add a Strieber-like element to the tale. It’s never clear why Val and Kate are so attached, and a cliffhanger conclusion provides little catharsis after the visceral horror. (Oct.)