WHITE MOUNTAIN

When Frank Walton, a Russian scientist who supposedly died in a plane crash 30 years earlier, is found murdered in an alley in Brighton Beach, N.Y., FBI agent Jack Dolan is instructed to poke around Braden, Mont., Walton's former residence, for clues to the man's past. Upon his arrival, Jack learns that Walton is survived by his "niece," the beautiful Isabella Abbott. Isabella runs an inn which houses couples seeking help at the famous White Mountain fertility clinic, run by her other "uncles," who are really just friends of her late father who helped raise her. As Jack begins to peel away the layers of secrecy that surround Walton's death, the fertility clinic and Isabella's uncles, his affection for Isabella, as well as his fear for her safety, intensifies. The pace picks up when the ex–KGB agent who killed Walton devises a plan to abduct Isabella and set himself up for life. The intimate encounters between Isabella and Jack are a welcome counterpoint to the action, and McCall (Storm Warning) skillfully keeps the reader guessing about the outcome of their relationship and the secrets of White Mountain until the novel's end. The weak point of the story is Isabella, who is little more than a modern day damsel-in-distress, but fast-paced action and a well-rounded hero more than compensate. (Apr.)

FYI:McCall also writes under the pseudonym Sharon Sala.