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>> Mysterious love triangles, murderous mothers and the return of Asterix round out this season's readings

by JULIET WATERS

I consider it my responsibility to properly pre-test books I'll be reviewing this summer, so as this goes to press I'm on a beach in Maine. Here are a few titles I've brought for myself, and some I've already tested for my vacation mates.

For myself: John Lawton's Riptide sounds like the perfect antidote to all this Pearl Harbor hype/tripe. Lawton's been getting praise in recent years as the new-school John le Carré. His latest is a love triangle set during the Second World War between two twentysomething detective types (they grew up fast back then)--young American intelligence officer Capt. Cal Cormack, and his British counterpart Sgt. Troy of Scotland Yard--fighting over the affections of an MI6 brat, Kitty Stilton.

John Baker's The Chinese Girl also sounds promising and seems tailor-made for Montrealers this month. An ex-con with a tattooed face tries to rebuild a new life, until he finds a battered runaway on his doorstep. Unlike some people, he gets involved--too involved. The book was described as "engagingly credible, off the wall, romantic without being sentimental, a sharp sense of humour" by Val McDermid, one of my favourite British mystery writers.

But mostly I'm looking forward to cracking open Son of a Grifter, the twisted true crime story of one of the most notorious con artists and murderers of the millennium so far, Sante Kimes, and her son Kenny. Written by her other son, the honest vacuum cleaner salesman, Kent Walker (helped by Spin contributing editor Mark Shone), it's also a survivor story of how he got out of his psycho mother's clutches. Perhaps you saw the TV movie starring Mary Tyler Moore as the evil Sante, whose crimes ranged from stealing fur coats from restaurants, to setting illegal immigrants up as slaves, to eventually murder. She is currently serving a 120-year prison sentence.

Teacher's pets and punks

For my friends to read: for pure page-turning appeal and very dark humour, Francine Prose's Blue Angel is hard to beat. This is especially perfect for anyone who's ever taken a creative writing class, but will be just as enjoyable to anyone who's ever gone to school. It's the story of a writer/teacher who gets lured into an affair by a student who systematically and brilliantly destroys his perfect life.

If the weather sucks, Graham Hurley's Turnstone is a drizzly noir--actually I called it gris. Mostly a psychological thriller about a detective mourning the loss of his deaf son, it's well written and won't keep you up at night. The Adversary, by Emmanuel Carrère, is a fascinating, real-life "theological thriller" about a neighbourhood doctor who killed his parents, wife and children all in one day so they wouldn't find out that he'd actually never been a doctor and was robbing all his friends blind. For true crime buffs with a cerebral side.

All three members of the This American Life's vicious triangle, essayists David Sedaris, Sarah Vowell and David Rakoff are guaranteed for a laugh. Their razor-sharp wit, travel essays, dysfunctional family exposés and cultural critiques are easy, intelligent reading.

For browsing, I find I'm still re-reading the Slate Diaries many months after finishing it. And it's got me hooked on Slate.com. A collection of entries from the online diary kept by a different guest every week, it's a great way to pass 10 minutes. Also gets you thinking like a tourist in your own life.

Art criticism on the beach you say? Sounds weird, but Matthew Collings' irreverent romp through Modern art, This Is Modern Art, is actually fun, light summer reading and might tempt you into a few museums. We Owe You Nothing: Punk Planet, edited by Daniel Sinker, is a good way to get a cool summer DIY mindset going. It includes in-depth interviews with old- and new-school punks, musicians, labels, and graphic and digital artists, from Sleater Kinney to Negativland.

Finally, for the car ride home, I've brought Asterix and the Actress by R. Goscinny and A. Uderzo. The first one in five years sees Asterix and his pals Obelix, Dogmatix and medicine man Getafix reunited for Gaulish fun.