Hot Texas Nights

Stone McCall, an overweight slob of a cop, is an innocent bystander at a murder. After being driven off the force, he goes away for some soul-searching and returns-fit and trim and obsessed with clearing his name. He thinks Natalie Whitmore, the victim's widow, holds the key to helping him. But Natalie has her own agenda-to find the cop who killed her husband, a mission that infuriates her wealthy in-laws. The Whitmore clan provides plenty of conflict, but so does the romance between Natalie and Stone, as neither is being entirely honest with the other. Though the book is a pleasant enough read, Baxter's (Sweet Justice) characters are stereotypical, her pacing choppy and her dialogue during lovemaking scenes ripe with cliches such as `You like what you see?'' and ``God, but you fit me like a glove.'' (Feb.)