Kiss in the Dark

Journalist Royce Winston has good news and bad news. The good news is that she's engaged to one of the city's wealthiest men. The bad? Her old flame, Mitch Durant, is back. Five years before, a promising romance between the two was been shattered when Mitch, a hotshot attorney with the D.A.'s office, destroyed her father. Now, a shared kiss rekindles their passion and sets off a terrifying chain of events intended to ruin Royce. First, a pair of stolen diamond earrings ends up in her evening bag at a social function. Shortly after, she's busted for drug trafficking. The luckless heroine is exonerated of both crimes only to find herself charged with the murder of her fiance. Sawyer (Promise Me Anything) captures the seedy side of San Francisco and populates it with some nifty characters. Fresh-faced Royce is tough enough to hold her own in any situation, and hardboiled Mitch moonlights as a Big Brother to a rebellious teenager while campaigning for the homeless. All in all, a finely crafted, engaging read. (Feb.)