Green Girls: A Novel of Suspense - Hardcover

Kimball, Michael

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060087374 ISBN 13: 9780060087371

Publisher: William Morrow, 2002

Synopsis

Writer Jacob Winter is a man of principle and practicality. Unequivocally faithful to his wife, Laura, and devoted to their son, Max, Jacob is a tireless worker. He does not cheat at games, does not cheat on his taxes, does not drink or take any drugs, not even the medication his former therapist prescribed for an overactive imagination.

To keep his racing mind in check, he has learned to order his life into a routine. He wakes up at the same time every morning, goes to bed at the same time every night. He grounds himself in reality, does not engage in speculation or indulge himself with fantasies of sex or success.

But when Jacob stumbles upon the unexpected -- his wife having an affair -- all of his restraints come crashing down, overrun by blind rage. When he awakens from his rampage, he finds himself locked in jail, his meticulously controlled world spinning out of orbit. And his troubles have only just begun.

Bailed out of jail by ethnobotanist Alix Callahan, a mysterious woman from his past, Jacob cannot comprehend why she would suddenly reappear or why she would help him. Nor does he understand why he is drawn into her obsessive relationship with her bisexual lover, July, a sultry Americanized rain-forest Indian. As much as he tries to distance himself from both women, Jacob and July are suddenly and inexorably thrown together when they watch helplessly as Alix plunges from the top of a high-level bridge. Or does she?

As Jacob becomes the focus of an intensive murder investigation, he struggles with his wayward mind to make sense of his shattered marriage and maintain his relationship with his son while at the same time resisting July's consuming love and divining the mystery of Alix's apparent suicide. His search leads him to a Florida prison, an ancient shamanistic Colombian Indian tribe, and disturbing truths about himself.

About this title

About the Author

Michael Kimball is the author of Firewater Pond and the critically acclaimed thriller Undone. He lives in Maine, where he is currently at work on a new novel.

From Publishers Weekly

Known for his idiosyncratic characters, erotic nuance and edgy plots, Kimball (Mouth to Mouth) stays true to form with his new fiction noir. An imposing bridge separating New Hampshire from Maine serves as the gothic centerpiece to this complex tale of murder, passion, jealousy and revenge. Jailed for assaulting wife Laura's psychiatrist lover, struggling author Jacob Winter is unexpectedly bailed out by Alix Callahan, a college classmate whom he hasn't seen for 15 years. She and her mysterious lover, July, operate an exotic gardening business, though it's immediately clear that all is not right between the two women. Soon Jacob and July are summoned to that imposing bridge by a frantic Alix; July shoots her and she falls to her death-or does she? Alix's body is never found and strange occurrences (not the least of which is someone else's murder) suggest she may still be alive. Meanwhile, July's husband, a sinister Colombian shaman, has escaped from a Florida prison and is making his way up the coast, looking for revenge and the drug money Alix and July stole from him. Estranged from Laura, Jacob foolishly (though he rarely shows good judgment throughout) accepts July's offer to stay with her, setting off a long, strange and possibly deadly seduction. Despite a promising start, the level of suspense is inconsistent and Kimball resorts to some hokey plot elements (psychic visions, poison frogs) in an effort to keep things interesting. Still, this diabolic epic is well calculated to keep readers who can suspend disbelief turning the pages.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: William Morrow
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0060087374
• ISBN 13: 9780060087371
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 384