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Building lies is like building a house of cards: one false step and
the whole delicate structure comes tumbling down. This is the
premise that Katrina Kittle purports in TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE, a
halfhearted tale of suspense, lies, and redemption.

Centered on the fictional theater world of Cincinnati, Ohio,
Kittle's creations are more self-aware than anyone I've ever met in
the creative arts. The believable self-destructive tendencies of
these artistic temperaments --- alcoholism, drug addiction,
smoking, denial --- are contrasted with improbably intense
soul-searching and restraint.

Dair Canard, the alcoholic actress, is a pathological liar who
agonizes every time she lies. She should save herself the worry
because she ends up lying less than she thinks. Peyton, Dair's
tap-dancing husband, is a recovering heroin addict whose own
struggle is somehow not compromised by enabling Dair. Kittle's
attempt to create a character-driven novel with these two tormented
souls, while commendable, doesn't quite succeed.

TWO TRUTHS tries to be a psychological novel that explores the
conflict of self vs. self. While the characters have enough angst
to do so, they don't have any lasting moments of clarity. Their
struggles with themselves lack progression. After a while, I
wondered how many ways Kittle could describe the "whine" of
addiction in Peyton's head without forcing him to confront it (I'm
still counting). For all of Dair's agonizing, it isn't a decision
to make amends that causes her to reveal her lies to Peyton.
Instead, she blurts out her story on an impulse born of his trust
and the aftermath of good sex. The action, whatever the prompt, was
much needed to kick start the conflict's movement.

Similar impulsive moments litter the second half of the novel as
Kittle brings the background story to the forefront. At the start
of TWO TRUTHS, Peyton's best friend and one of Dair's fellow actors
commits suicide. Dair and Peyton are convinced that Craig's
untimely death was murder, so everyone in Dair's life suddenly
seems to be hiding something. Handicapped by their own worries, the
two do not make much headway with the mystery until Dair's mother
reveals she can communicate with animals. The animals spur their
human friends to action by sharing key images of Craig's last
moments, of intruders, and of the murderer. Thankfully, this
preternatural help combines with the sudden impulsiveness of the
characters to forward the story to its conclusion.

Kittle draws TWO TRUTHS to a close with a flurry of activity and
realizations. The intervention of the animals leads to the
murderer's capture in a thrilling cat-and-mouse game. Peyton and
Dair's overwhelming love repairs their troubled souls when they
realize that they can only quiet their addictions through each
other. The former is a satisfying denouement to a mystery. The
latter is an easy way to conclude the self-angst, once the
sustaining plot has been solved.

As Kittle's second novel, TWO TRUTHS perhaps suffered from a
too-quick publication. The lyricism of TRAVELING LIGHT, published
in 2000, continues in TWO TRUTHS almost without pause. Kittle's
accessible narrative voice, however, is not enough to carry the
tedious characters nor does it create as much sympathy as they
deserve. If the author takes more time to contemplate her next
novel, expect it to be a thought-provoking delight. In the
meantime, TWO TRUTHS, with its glimpses of philosophy and
understanding, will whet the appetites of Kittle's fans.