Swept Away

Set in Baltimore, Forster's (Fools Rush In) legal romance provides a strong heroine but its pace lags under the weight of stilted descriptions. When Schyler Henderson heads a legal case against the children's social service agency run by Veronica Overton, the African-American executive must defend her business and herself. Although Veronica and her agency are cleared of the charges, her reputation is sufficiently damaged, and she decides to take a leave of absence. Not long afterward, she runs into the charismatic Schyler again and the two begin to take action on the sexual attraction they felt when they first met. But when Veronica learns that the wealthy man who adopted and raised Schyler is her own father, who her mother had always said had deserted them, she is faced with the challenge of reconciling her desire for Schyler with the anger she feels toward his family. While the basis for Forster's story is interesting, the execution is flawed. There are several legal factual inconsistencies, and the formal prose style limits the effect of the sexual tension. The result is a plodding, overwritten novel that fails to quicken the reader's heart. (Apr.)