All or Nothing

In this sprawling saga of mid-1980s Texas ranch life, the characters are as heroic and as villainous, and the events as miraculous and as cataclysmic as those of prime-time television soap operas. After receiving word of her uncle's death, beautiful New York fashion photographer Maureen McDonald heads for his ranch in Kerrville, Tex., to straighten out his affairs. Within days Maureen concludes that her glamorous career and her relationship with her boss/boyfriend have been shallow and unrewarding. She wants to be a Texan, and decides to honor Uncle Mac by keeping the ranch afloat and making it hers, and so refuses the many tempting offers for the property--including one from her childhood friend and neighbor, Alex Cottrell. Maureen is menaced by mob hit men, cattle poachers and drug dealers, but survives, thanks to her indomitable spirit. Lanigan, author of Romancing the Stone under the name Joan Wilder, knows her genre well and peoples her yarn with likable characters as well as several endearingly loathsome ones. Greed, pursuit of power, infidelity, passion and devotion reach outrageous proportions but, with hard work and loyalty to Texas, love conquers all. (Dec.)