SILAS CROCKETT

The author of Mary Peters has tapped again the rich vein of Americana in the backgrounds of Maine seafaring families, in this story of four generations of Crockett men -- and the women who rivalled their strength. The abundant minutiae of details builds the settings, but the plot seems thin and long spun out -- always one feels a sense of working toward something tangible, a climax that does not come off. And yet there is much of the strength and charm of Mary Peters though the focus seems lacking.