A Fair Maiden (Otto Penzler Books)

Sixteen-year-old Katya Spivak is out for a walk on the gracious streets of Bayhead Harbor with her two summer babysitting charges when she s approached by silver-haired, elegant Marcus Kidder. At first his interest in her seems harmless, even pleasant; like his name, a sort of gentle joke. His beautiful home, the children s books he s written, his classical music, the marvelous art in his study, his lavish presents to her Mr. Kidder s life couldn t be more different from Katya s drab working-class existence back home in South Jersey, or more enticing. But by degrees, almost imperceptibly, something changes, and posing for Mr. Kidder s new painting isn t the lighthearted endeavor it once was. What does he really want from her? And how far will he go to get it?

In the tradition of Oates s classic story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" A Fair Maiden is an unsettling, ambiguous tale of desire and control.