Marry Me

Every woman on the loose is looking for a good man, according to Booth's latest heart-strummer (after All for Love), but it seems as if there's only one left. He's the melancholy Charles Ford, mystical rancher, stalled artist and part owner of the Hacienda, a Santa Fe spa where Booth's three heroines come for some post-holiday nutritional detox. Charles may be arrogant and improbable, with a penchant for pontificating, but he's still the obvious prescription for what ails disenchanted TV personality Rachel Richardson, who has glamour but craves a spouse and children; artist Carol McCabe, whose husband has a wandering eye; and Tessa Andersen, mysteriously bereft of both husband and wealth, who must find a way to support her young daughter. Who will wind up with Charles? Or will all three, one way and another? Through an implausible series of misunderstandings and coincidences, the action moves everyone to Manhattan, the Mediterranean and Connecticut before returning to New Mexico for a too speedy denouement. The characters tend toward caricature (Charles even comes with a white horse and black cape), and Booth's writing tends toward soap (""Oh, Matt. . . . Can you give me the life I need?""), but this novel is nevertheless an unabashed page-turner. Major ad/promo; Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club selections; translation rights: Janklow & Nesbit. (Apr.)