Unexpected power yields some absurdly catastrophic results in Arthur Cotton Moore's wildly entertaining new novel, "Interruption of the Cocktail Hour."

Painting is the lifeblood of the aristocratic A. Pierpont Preston, despite the fact that recognition has eluded him. Ravaged by critics, without hope of sales, commissions, or a gallery show, Pete takes his new inheritance and his reluctant wife to Scapoosa County, Maryland, in search of artistic rejuvenation and a new beginning.

After meeting H2O, the Japanese-American inventor of the perfect untraceable killing machine, Pete steals...