Lucky's Lady

This steamy romance by a master of the genre sandwiches sex, implicit and explicit, between thin layers of plot. Psychologist Serena Sheridan returns to her family's plantation in South Louisiana after her ailing but feisty grandfather has gone missing for one week. To guide her through the hazardous Atchafalaya swamp toward her grandfather's presumed hideout, she hires Etienne ``Lucky'' Doucet (``a prime example of the male animal''). The diamond-in-the-rough Cajun has an electrifying effect on polished Serena, and before long the shivering, tingling and verbal sparring lead to lovemaking. Eros doesn't keep them from their task, however, and the two uncover a far-ranging conspiracy. The story line and the protagonists are standard issue, but Hoag ( Magic ) evokes the pungent atmosphere of the bayou in fine detail, drawing exotic local flora and alligator-infested waters, and carefully reproducing lilting Cajun idioms. (Feb.)