Mary After All

In his first novel, Bill Gordon gets in touch with his feminine side his Italian-American, Mafia-connected, married-young-and-knocked-up-quick feminine side. Mary After All‘s setup smacks of stereotype — not every ’60s wife was saddled with a cheating husband and a Valium problem, thank you — but Gordon’s heroine has a strong voice and a spine of steel. (She also has a speckled linoleum kitchen and a short-lived career as a bookie.) Bonus points for the use of real local landmarks: Mary hostesses part-time at Arthur’s Steakhouse in Hoboken, where the yummy hash-browns would make a perfect side dish to this meaty morsel.