It Happened at Midnight

Michaela Langtry returns to the fictional Wyoming town of Shiloh after being forced out of her job as an on-air meteorologist in Manhattan. She is embraced by the healing love of her family but must also come to terms with Harrison Kane II, a man who has sparked her passion since they were teens. Both have faced tremendous sorrows and pain in their lives--Michaela's sister was kidnapped as an infant, and Harrison's cold father committed suicide after it was discovered he had embezzled money. Harrison has always been treated like a member of the Langtry family, and even though they've never so much as shared a kiss, he has a plan to make Michaela his. London prefaces each chapter with a journal entry from Zachariah Langtry, Michaela's proud and brave ancestor and the family's patriarch, which tells the story of the fiery love he shared with his half-Native American wife, Cleopatra, a parallel to the smoldering relationship between Michaela and Harrison. Six gold coins, each bearing the letter L, form part of the Langtry family's legendary history, and there's apparently nothing one villainous character won't do to obtain them. While there is some touching dialogue in the last couple of scenes, the remainder of the book proves tiresome. London is an uneven writer--prone to too much detail and melodrama--and this latest doesn't live up to her previous, Sleepless in Montana. (Nov.)