The Narcissist's Daughter » (Reprint)

Craig Holden is the author of four previous novels: The Jazz Bird, The River Sorrow, The Last Sanctuary, and Four Corners of Night. He lives in Michigan.

In his earlier acclaimed novels, Craig Holden created a thrilling vision of America that was at once lyrical and dark. Now, with The Narcissist's Daughter, he expands that vision in his most accomplished and controversial work to date, a drama about the collision between two families, both riddled with desires but from opposite sides of the tracks.

From the outside the Kesslers appear to have it all: Dr. Ted Kessler is a decorated veteran who now runs the lab at a large medical center. He and his wife, Joyce, live with their daughter, Jessi, in a beautiful house in the estate section of an Ohio city in the 1970s. Ted is widely respected as a clinician, researcher, manager, and businessman. But when he resolves to mentor an ambitious working-class student, this idyllic little world is threatened.

Syd Redding, the gruff, streetwise narrator of The Narcissist's Daughter, has no plan in mind for the Kesslers. He's a bored pre-med student with few prospects, a failure for a stepfather, and a sister who seems to be following his example. Soon after he meets Kessler's wife and daughter, he finds himself ensnared in the secret machinations of this magnetic family on the brink of unraveling.

The Narcissist's Daughter is the compulsively readable and suspenseful story of a simple affair that blossoms into obsession, exploitation, and finally, a passion for revenge that threatens to ruin the lives of everyone involved.

Publishers Weekly

Following Holden's outstanding breakout novel The Jazz Bird, comes this complex, moody study of class tension, sexual obsession and murder set in 1970s Cleveland. Daniel "Syd" Redding, a young working-class pre-med student, listens to the Ramones and dreams of destroying the life of his rich, egomaniac boss, Dr. Ted Kessler. Working nights in the hospital, Redding comes under the spell of Kessler's sexy young wife, Joyce, who lures him into a kinky affair that soon turns ugly, leaving him devastated and even more intent on vengeance. Redding next targets the Kessler's 17-year-old daughter, Jessi, whom he starts dating, much to the dismay of her parents. What begins as simply a ploy to hurt the Kesslers intensifies as Redding, despite his intentions, finds himself becoming more and more attached to the girl. The ensuing entanglement leads to murder. The story abruptly advances 20 years (and here the narrative loses some of its immediacy), as we learn that Syd and Jessi have married, started a family and embarked on successful careers of their own. The Reddings' happy, comfortable life hits a snag, however, when a construction crew unearths human remains down by the river. Holden is a writer to watch, and this is an intelligent, if slightly uneven, suspense novel that should win him a larger audience. Agent, Gail Hochman. Author tour. (Feb. 10) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.