THE WOMAN MOST LIKELY TO...

At the start of this sweetly sanguine offering, Susan Sinclair, her widowed mother, Lydia, and her daughter, Becca, are at critical junctures in their lives. Susan, a successful businesswoman, has come home to scenic Copper Creek, Mich., to check up on her mother, who, Becca claims, has gone nutty. Upon her arrival, she discovers that Becca has a bigger problem. She has gotten pregnant out of wedlock. Fears of ending up like Lydia, who was unhappy in her one-sided marriage, kept Susan from marrying Becca's father, Jon Laker, and now Becca is worried that she'll foul up her own future. As for Jon, he would love to have the exasperating Susan back in his life if only she would stop running from him and commitment in general. Greene's (Devil's Night, etc.) writing possesses a modern sensibility and frankness that is vivid, fresh and often funny. She also manages to tackle important issues such as abortion without making light of them or resorting to melodrama. Lydia's "born-again hip" manner of speaking may be far-fetched for some (does any grandma say "way cool?"), and readers will undoubtedly be frustrated that it takes so long for Susan and Jon to work through their issues. Still, readers will rejoice when the couple finally get it right. (Oct. 1)

Forecast:Blurbs from Jennifer Crusie and Susan Elizabeth Phillips will help Greene, who has hitherto only written Harlequin series romances, break out her first single-title contemporary.