Web of lies

Patry Francis 's first novel, "The Liar's Diary," deals with how a parent copes with the possibility that a teenage child who appears "fine" may actually be dangerously disturbed.

"It's about dealing with problems," the Brockton native and mother of four said. "Or not dealing with them."

Set in fictional Bridgeway (which, she says, may bear a subconscious but not an intentional similarity to Bridgewater), the novel centers on the crisis faced by a mother whose son is suspected in the murder of one of her more "seductive" friends.

In probing her son's connection to the dead woman (whose diary gives the book its title), she is led to questions of loyalty "that none of us would ever want to face."

Francis will read from "The Liar's Diary," discuss writing the book, and sign copies at the Duxbury Library at 2 p.m. Sunday as part of the library's Sunday Salon Series.

Librarian Carol Jankowski, who schedules the discussion series, said she was attracted to the book because of the author's regional roots. Her interest was heightened when a Duxbury resident dropped her a note recommending the book and saying the opening chapters "grabbed me."

Published this year by Dutton, the book has grabbed the attention of reviewers, too. Library Journal praised it as a "chilling study of a deeply disturbed, dysfunctional family, its crimes, and its fate."

A novel that has characteristics of both literary fiction and the suspense novel, "The Liar's Diary" had its beginning in Francis's ruminations on the well-known Edward O'Brien case, in which a Somerville teenage boy's obsessive fascination with the mother of his best friend led to her murder. While Francis's book does not follow that case (in which O'Brien was found guilty 10 years ago of killing neighbor Janet Downing), it deals imaginatively with the difficult family issues posed by a similar situation.

The novel's title, Francis said last week, refers to "various kinds of lies people tell. The most dangerous are the ones you tell yourself."

Francis said that -- while she has no way of knowing anything about the family situation of the college student who killed fellow students at Virginia Tech -- some readers are already connecting the issues in her book to those raised by that crime.

"How do you know if you see something's wrong," she asked, "and what do you do if you think there is? It's not an easy question to answer."

Francis, who lives with her family on Cape Cod, has published numerous stories and poems. "I've been doing this all my life," she said of her writing career. However, since most of the periodicals that publish poetry and fiction pay in contributor s' copies, she has also worked as a waitress.

She said she began writing at a young age, and credits the influence of her grandfather, John Joseph Heney, a Brockton factory worker, who taught her that if you want to do something, you don't complain about the cost.

Since conventional book signings in stores often fail to attract crowds for first-time authors, Francis and her publishers developed the idea of home parties for the book. The parties were hosted throughout the country by people who learned about her work through Francis's blog (patryfrancis.com).

Her book tour took her to Seattle, Portland, and Chicago. There were "no surprises," Francis said. "You do know people from a blog."

Free tickets to her reading Sunday are available at the Duxbury Free Library and at Westwinds Bookshop, 45 Depot St. in Duxbury. Books will be available for purchase. For more information, call the library at 781-934-2721, ext. 104, or visit www.duxburyfreelibrary.org.

Robert Knox can be contacted at rc.knox@gmail.com.