WALKING THE LABYRINTH

Contemporary fantasy, San Franciscoset, about young drifter Molly Travers and her large, mysterious family. Private investigator John Stow has been hired—he won't reveal by whom—to inquire about Fentrice Allalie, the great-aunt who raised Molly after her parents died in an auto accident. Fentrice's family toured in the old vaudeville days, presenting an outstanding magic show. According to Fentrice, Callan, Molly's grandfather, is dead; of another sister, Thorne, Fentrice oddly denies all knowledge. Learning that the family originally came from England, John and Molly visit the old home, where John discovers a book—a confession—written by Fentrice's mother, Emily; she had the Gift and could work real magic. Back in San Francisco, John reveals that his client is Samuel, an uncle Molly never knew she had. At Samuel's house, she finds Callan, not the least bit dead, and dozens of other relatives, most of whom can also work real magic. But Molly still puzzles over Thorne, who disappeared mysteriously in 1935. Did Fentrice murder her? And what of Molly herself: Does she have psychic powers too? A deftly woven, engrossing who-dun-what: despite some intrusively didactic patches, Goldstein's best outing since A Mask for the General (1987).