cover image Only in My Arms

Only in My Arms

Jo Goodman. Zebra, $5.5 (448pp) ISBN 978-0-8217-5346-0

Goodman (Always in My Dreams) finishes her successful series about the romantic escapades of the five Dennehy sisters with another quick-paced, entertaining episode set around the turn of the century. Her latest features Mary Francis, the first born, who, after 13 years in a convent, shocks the family with the announcement that she has renounced her vows and is headed west in search of a new life. When she arrives in Ft. Union, Ariz., she discovers that an Army supply train carrying gold has been raided and several soldiers killed. The man accused of the crime and sentenced to hang is none other than Ryder McKay, a handsome Army scout that Mary had chanced to meet under compromising circumstances. Ryder doesn't know that Mary has turned in her habit, and, since the clergy are the only ones allowed entry to the jail, Ryder sees the virtuous Sister Mary as the perfect ploy in his plan to escape. (Sept.)