Darkness at Dawn

Jennings takes the tried-and-true romantic formula of two strangers pretending to be engaged and spices it up with spies and biological weapons. Lucy Merritt was orphaned at 14 when her parents, both CIA operatives, were killed. She wants nothing more than her quiet life as a book restorer, but her country needs her, and she can't refuse the CIA's request to return to the Himalayas to examine an antique document. Serving as her faux fianc%C3%A9 and protection, Army captain Mike Shafer is immediately drawn to her. To their attraction, add a dying king, a trapped princess, a pending coup, and terrorist plots aimed at the United States, India, Israel, and a tribe in Africa, and the recipe for disaster is complete. Eight viewpoint characters bog down this plot-driven novel, but the suspenseful ending makes up for the slow trip. (July)