Tender Malice

""In the future, the shift in global power will not be who has the strongest air force or hydrogen bombs. Power will rest solely with which nation has the smartest computers,"" says a character in this debut romantic thriller by the author of more than 20 works of women's fiction and two novelizations. Lanigan portrays the complex, fascinating world of computers through her heroine, the ""nerd,"" Karen Curie, as she invents a computer security program she calls Mastermind. Interest in her invention runs high--so high that someone is willing to kill for it. Is it her roommate, Ashley, who has helped Karen transform from duckling to swan? Or her best friend, Stevie, a lovable M&M chugging, Baby-Huey look-alike? Or could it be handsome widower, Doyle, with his adorable infant son, Sammy? The last person Karen wants to suspect, but the one with the most to gain, is ruthless Lucas Tanner, head of the company bidding on Mastermind. Lanigan, who never writes the same book twice, has created a fascinating creditable heroine and put her in the middle of a well-thought-out and sexy page-turner. (Mar.)