Marcy Taggart's daughter, Devon, drowned in an accident or perhaps as a suicide, but since the body was never recovered, Marcy holds on to hope that Devon chose to disappear. In the years following her daughter's death, Marcy's marriage falls apart. She decides to take the trip to Ireland on her own that had been planned to celebrate her 25th wedding anniversary. In Cork, she sees a woman who looks like Devon and begins trying to track her down, inadvertently stumbling into something sinister. Attempts to scare Marcy off merely make her more determined to find her daughter. Fielding (The Wild Zone; Still Life) deftly combines a poignant tale of a family with a tense pursuit through Ireland; either story would have made a good book, but Fielding weaves them together into another one of her page-turners. VERDICT With interesting characters taking heartbreaking journeys, this suspenseful novel will appeal to Fielding's many fans.—Beth Blakesley, Washington State Univ. Libs., Pullman

Fielding (The Wild Zone) delivers another emotional blitz in this story about Marcy Taggart, who, at 50, is newly divorced and mourning her daughter, Devon, who two years ago disappeared in a boating accident and is presumed dead. On what was to be her 25th wedding anniversary, Marcy travels to Ireland for a vacation and spots a girl she believes to be Devon, and her sightseeing quickly turns into a quest. For better or worse, she meets two strangers who offer to help her in her search, but she can't determine whether their kindness is sincere. The stakes are raised when Marcy's hotel room is ransacked, and the carefully drawn plot twists toward a dramatic conclusion. Though some of the coincidences and developments stretch believability, Fielding succeeds in creating a winning heroine; indeed, Marcy's need for emotional release ends up being a more compelling plot driver than the unlikely craziness involving her charismatic new friends and the hunt for her daughter. (Feb.)