WHATEVER MAKES YOU HAPPY

By William Sutcliffe (Bloomsbury, 304 pages, $23.95)

Like Bridget Jones or the "Sex and the City" foursome, three Brits named Gillian, Helen and Carol have fulfilling lives of their own, yet each yearns for a deeper relationship with a special someone. In this case, it's with their terminally adolescent 34-year-old sons. The trio have kept up their friendship long after the kids' play group dissolved and, after devoting years of their lives to their boys, they all admit to being unhappy with the results. They feel they've been tossed aside. They want some recognition and gratitude. They want grandchildren. So, when another Mother's Day passes unobserved, the women vow to barge into their children's lives for a week, "to make them grow up." These are some truly meddling mothers and expertly dissembling sons, and Sutcliffe's handling of the ensuing confrontations is at times hilarious, at times heartbreaking. Carol's visit with Matt, an editor at an aggressive men's magazine, puts his sex- and status-obsessed lifestyle in sharp contrast to her middle-class values. Helen, still smarting years after divorcing Paul's father, is hurt to discover that her gay son came out to her ex years ago. But her pluck and determination lead them both to an unexpected and profound love. And Daniel, stung by an unfaithful lover, recoils at the prospect of Gillian's insistent probing. It is only when he realizes that she will not leave him alone to sulk that he begins to heal. Sutcliffe succeeds in making each of these characters lovable despite their faults. And in the end, the ability to see that in one another is what binds families together.

KATHE CONNAIR,

Features copy editor

The Grift

By Debra Ginsberg (Shaye Areheart Books, 337 pages, $23.95)

This cleverly titled book is hard to categorize: Is it a mystery? A romance? A thriller? It's really all three. In the first part of the book, the heroine, Marina, is most assuredly running a grift (that is, a scam). She is posing as a psychic seer, guiding trusting clients through difficult times. She has a lucrative business in Florida and is saving for a move to California. After receiving threats from disbelievers, she aims to hasten the move by taking a gullible client for a large sum of money and an expensive ring. Fast forward and we find Marina in California, wearing the ring on a chain around her neck and running the same kind of scam. Her clients take every word to heart and suffer serious consequences in their lives. To add to Marina's complications, the son of the woman who gave her the ring has tracked her down and plots revenge. Amid this crisis, Marina unexpectedly discovers that she actually does have a psychic gift and can see the future with clarity. She sets about to make things right by her clients and in her own messy life. The ending left me a bit disappointed: We are left to our own imaginings for how Marina's life continues. I had wanted a clearer picture of what lay ahead for her, but perhaps that irony was intentional. JUDY ROMANOWICH SMITH,

NEWS DESIGNER