North Country

In this immersive if overstuffed thriller from Bondurant (Oleander City), Air Force pilot Tom Kaiser returns home to the Canadian border town of North Chazy, N.Y., where he’s haunted by his sister’s tragic drowning. Shortly after arriving, Tom is drawn into the orbit of Donnie LeClair, a charming but ruthless slumlord and art dealer, through whom he gets work collecting debts for a Montreal drug lord. In his personal life, he begins confronting old wounds in his relationships with his mother, brother, and high school girlfriend, who’s now a beleaguered social worker. Meanwhile, Donnie launches a dangerous forgery scheme that attracts violent rivals from both sides of the border. As winter deepens and the ice on Lake Champlain thickens, Donnie’s plans unravel, and Tom is confronted by a supernatural presence that has haunted him since childhood. Between Tom’s guilt about his dead sister, Donnie’s criminal schemes, and numerous other subplots, Bondurant struggles to maintain forward momentum. Still, multilayered characterizations and evocative prose enrich the proceedings. For literary thriller fans, it’s worth a look. Agent: Alex Glass, Glass Literary. (Nov.)