Orpheus Rising

Stephen Armstrong gives an authentic flavor to this dark, macabre story of dread and death. Newlyweds Michael and Claire are elated when Michael's debut novel becomes a runaway bestseller. But when Claire is murdered in a bank robbery, Michael's world falls apart. In a seamless narrative Armstrong captures Michael's poignant and tragic return to the small town where it all began. There the story shifts to the earlier part of their relationship. Michael and Claire first meet when Claire pulls a porn shop owner from the ocean after a shark attack. While she's intrigued by Michael, Claire feels she must remain loyal to her lover, Tommy, a Gulf War vet. But when Tommy's work takes him out of town, Claire and Michael fall in love. Armstrong's masterfully recounts two parallel story lines 10 years apart, and Michael learns a surprising truth about Claire's murder. G.D.W. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine