A Touch of Sin

Followers of Johnson's 19th-century romance St. John series will welcome the story of Pasha Duras, the Eurasian son of Teo and Andre Duras from Taboo. Here, Pasha (who displays the usual romance-novel aversion to marriage) meets his lustful match in Lady Trixi Grosvenor when he rescues her and her small son, Chris, from greedy relatives who will stop at nothing--including murder--to prevent Chris from claiming his inheritance. A succession of kidnappings commence with Pasha saving the day. The novel is primarily one long sexual romp (Johnson's trademark); the plot, however, gets a bit heavy-handed toward the end, as the author drops readers into the Greek War of Independence, circa 1820. For the most part, however, this is lightweight fare, footnoted with choice, little-known facts, which, in the author's words, ""are always the most interesting part of the book."" (Mar.)