Treasures

The mystery surrounding a kidnapping adds a jolt to this otherwise standard romance. Four-year-old London disappears after a party one night in 1974. London is the favorite daughter of Portland lumber scion Witt Danvers, and the only one of his five children conceived with his second wife, Kat. Apparently London will be his last, since even Kat's vigorous sexual play cannot cure Witt's impotence. Two decades later, in 1993, a woman named Adria Nash shows up claiming that she is London. The Danvers siblings are nervous, since according to their late father's will, London would receive 50% of his assets if she reappears. Only Zach, who as the family's black sheep receives only a small inheritance, has no financial interest in disproving her. A romance springs up between Zach and Adria, and they play down its possibly incestuous nature by clinging to rumors that Zach was fathered by Witt's arch-enemy, Anthony Polidori. Jackson ( Obsession ) moves the story along at a jaunty pace, and there are some surprises, but many characters are canned stereotypes. Kat is full of ``raw sexual energy,'' while the Italian Polidoris are toughs with a penchant for fine food and beautiful women. (Feb.)