Chase the Wind

Taylor's latest, a sequel to Follow the Wind , is a predictable romance set in the American West circa 1886. Two U.S. government agents, Navarro Breed and Elizabeth Lawrence, who is hiding her identity under the name Bethany Wind, set out after Charles Cordell, a gunrunner who is selling weapons to the Mexican army, possibly even to Apache chief Geronimo. Cordell is the brother of Matt Cordell, who married Navarro's first love, Jessie. In a slow-moving opening rife with repetition, the two agents have a mock wedding and, as husband and wife, head for the Cordell ranch in Texas. After briefly resisting each other's charms, Navarro and Bethany proceed to fall in love and, though they say they mistrust their feelings, enjoy a physical romance. With the appearance of Charles Cordell, who plans to bilk the Apaches of their silver, a bit of tension enters the story, but not much can rescue the anticlimactic ending in which ``secrets'' the reader already knows are ``revealed.'' Taylor's is a formulaic narrative, but her fans will undoubtedly be pleased. (May)