Evening News: A Novel

Nine year-old Teddy is playing next door with his best friend when Eric pulls out his father's handgun and hands it to Teddy. The telephone rings; the gun goes off, shooting -- and killing -- Teddy's two-year-old half sister Trina, who was playing in a wading pool in the yard outside, with Giselle, their mother, by her side.

Thus begins Marly Swick's second novel after the highly acclaimed "Paper Wings." As with her previous work, Swick resolutely travels the domestic landscape, detailing de...