Leaving

Characters from Kingsbury's Baxter family epic recur in the first of a new series about young actress Bailey Flanigan. Bailey, who has appeared in a film of Unlocked (a real novel by Kingsbury) and is awaiting a callback about her Broadway audition, has a problem: Hollywood hottie Brandon Paul, reformed bad boy and film co-star, is after her; star NFL rookie Matt Keagan is another potential interest. But Bailey really loves Cody Coleman, the regular-guy Iraq war veteran who abruptly left her. Ex-POW Cody is teaching and coaching at a rural high school, visiting his druggie mom in jail, and trying to forget Bailey, whom he left out of fear of his mother's unsavory connections. A parallel story involves firefighter Landon Blake, whose ground zero experience is affecting his health. Fans won't mind the self-promotional reference to Kingsbury's previous book as they enjoy the treacly confection of Hollywood and heroes the popular novelist offers.