Unspoken Promise

Diana Winchester had tried to rationalize her parents' behavior, but deep down she knew they had always treated her better than her adopted younger sister, Amy, who responded by resorting to drugs, alcohol and, finally, prostitution. Diana had attempted to counteract their inattention and tended to be overprotective of her younger sibling, but ultimately realizes that if Amy is to survive her self-destructive course, she needs the support of a loving family, and that the logical solution is to find Amy's birth mother. Desperate to save the sister she adores, Diana locates the mother, then travels to Jackson Hole in Wyoming to confront her. Nothing could have prepared her for the hostility of Amy's birth mother, a mean-spirited woman who has no regrets about giving away her child nor any wish to see her again. All seems lost until Amy's handsome `new' brother shows up and offers Diana his support and eventually romance. Bockoven's well-charted heart-wrencher is sensitively depicted and thought-provoking. (Jan.)