DRIVING LESSONS

From the brisk urban world of Isola’s 87th Precinct, McBain shifts to River Close, where conscientious homeowners clip chrysanthemums and rake leaves beneath the suburban sun. But tragedy unfolds at the corner of Third and Grove when a car with bright yellow “STUDENT DRIVER” tags hits an identified woman stepping off the curb in front of Our Lady of Sorrows. Officers at the scene find Rebecca Patton, the pretty blond 16-year-old behind the wheel, nearly incapacitated with grief—but not as incapacitated as her teacher, Andrew Newell, who appears drunk, drugged, or both. Detective Katie Logan must not only decide whether she is investigating a freakish accident, manslaughter, or cold-blooded murder; but must also grapple with the question of who is responsible: the novice driver or derelict instructor. The puzzle knots still further when the dead woman is identified as Mary Beth Newell, Andrew’s wife, and Logan, still tormented by her husband’s infidelity and their consequent divorce, sets out to probe the inner workings of the Newells’ marriage. She listens to Newell’s colleagues at the high school, who show nothing but support for a dedicated teacher. But the key, she feels, is Mary Beth, so she turns to Father McDowell, pastor of Our Lady, to whom Mary Beth confided her problems—confidences he wants to respect past the grave.

Unlike the subpar stories in McBain’s latest collection (below), this intense tale of love and betrayal is plotted and paced just right.