THE SUMMER OF THE OSPREY

It's back to the saltier-than-thou lobsterfolk of Bennett's Island, Maine, for another of Ogilvie's homespun adventure outings (The Road to Nowhere, etc.). One June afternoon, a glistening high-tech powerboat enters the island's harbor. A rich man from the mainland, a ""weekend lobsterman,"" has bought a house on the island. As the clannish islanders take a hostile look-see attitude towards this unwelcome newcomer, Felix Drake, small-town life meanders on: Rose Fleming wishes her liaison with Jamie Sorenson would wind towards the alter; Jamie's wise mum Joanna finds out about a long-hidden affair between island old-timers; lobsters are hauled in; donuts are fried; animals are overfed. One morning, Joanna spots newcomer Drake bringing ashore a young woman with flaming-red hair. Drake tells Joannna his guest wants to be left alone, but the redhead's two brothers also soon show up, and cool Pitt captures young Linnie Sorenson's romantic fancy. Then, when someone notices that the redhead's pregnant, the nosey-to-distraction islanders contrive all sorts of plans to meet her--and Jamie, meanwhile, comes to hate Drake so much that he ignores Rosa. Finally, with a leap of intuition, he realizes that the brothers are smuggling drugs. A hurricane brews; the brothers, sought by the police, are missing at sea; the redhead, deserted by Drake, goes into labor. And it's a field day for island resourcefulness. A leaky plot, to be sure, and Ogilvie's generally gamy prose occasionally falters. But windswept atmospherics and the islanders' comforting spunk promise a pleasant ride for Ogilvie fans.