If Only

The end of the Civil War found few families that had not suffered tragic losses, and Elise Worthen is no exception. The young beauty committed murder in defense of her parents and now lives in constant fear of being discovered. When her brother's old friend Jared Kensington returns from the war, she thinks she has an ally but doesn't realize that Jared is on assignment from the U.S. Treasury Department, tracking an ex-agent: the very man she murdered. A relatively new author, Cowan got good reviews for her previous work, A Secret Yearning. Regrettably, her latest comes up lacking. Lukewarm characters and a skimpy plot result in a slow read that will leave readers waiting for the action to start right through to the end. (Sept.)