Lake Effect

Sweeney’s latest arresting family drama (after The Nest) tracks the fallout of an affair in 1970s Rochester, N.Y., across two generations. Nina Larkin, mother to Clara and Bridie and wife to Sam, knows something is missing in her marriage. She considers divorce, but worries about the social repercussions, and carries on an affair with neighbor Finn Finnegan, who runs a chain of upscale grocery stores and feels similarly trapped in his marriage. Early one morning, Nina and Finn flee to the Dominican Republic for a quick divorce and marriage, leaving behind shattering notes for their teenage children about their plans. Clara has secretly been dating Finn’s son, Dune, and now Dune blames Nina for blowing up his family and refuses to see Clara, who digs into her grudge against her mother. The story extends to the 1990s, when Dune joins the family business and struggles with alcohol. Meanwhile, Clara refuses to forgive her mother and tells people she’s dead, Sam finally accepts that he’s gay, and Nina and Finn try to live a life back in New York that makes the pain of tearing apart their families worth it. Sweeney excels at exploring how the characters are shaped over time by their complex family dynamics. (As Clara’s new boyfriend puts it: “People change. We change. Sometimes for the better.”) The author’s fans will enjoy this. Agent: Henry Dunow, Dunow, Carlson & Lerner. (Mar.)