FRUIT OF THE DEVIL

An environmental thriller in which a California teacher travels to a parallel world.

It’s 1998 in Santa Cruz, California, where Aurora Bourne is a fourth grade teacher, an ardent surfer, and a lover of nature. The city faces many problems, ranging from poor conditions that farm workers must endure to financial cutbacks to the local school system. Aurora gets particularly fired up, however, by the fact that toxic methyl bromide is being used in the strawberry industry, as she sees that the dangerous chemical is adversely affecting the local population. Francis Hilman, like Aurora, is determined to fight for what’s right; the two meet on a group hike centered on exploring physics in nature. They have an instant, mutual attraction, which is complicated by the fact that Francis is a Catholic priest. After Aurora dives into a local swimming hole, she discovers an alternative version of Earth that exists alongside the one that she knows. Francis informs her that the other version of the world is experiencing its own problems, and although Aurora’s major battle may be with the strawberry industry, the story goes on to encompass the illegal removal of swallows’ nests; far more serious crimes involving sex trafficking and gang violence; and the ghost of a murdered boy. Despite the many different narrative elements, the sharp focus on Aurora herself allows the tale to progress steadily. At more than 600 pages in length, the book will prove to be a challenging ride for some, but it’s a consistently entertaining one. However, the dialogue sometimes sounds as if it were lifted from an informational brochure, as when Francis explains the importance of the Monterey Submarine Canyon by saying, “Seasonal currents bring cold water upwelling from down deep, loaded with rich nutrients.” Between such textbooklike moments, though, there’s plenty of action to keep things lively; in the wilds of California, even a well-intentioned beach cleanup can turn ugly, and terrors, both natural and human-made, can await in the woods.

A crowded but memorable account of a righteous quest.