February Publications

Former Secret Service agent Gerald Petievich (Money Men) describes the daily grind of protecting the President with meticulous care in The Sentinel. Unfortunately, his plot isn't quite as credible. Special Agent Pete Garrison suspects that the neo-Nazi Aryan Disciples have positioned one of their own in the White House, but his investigation is cut short by a blackmailer who knows of his affair with the First Lady and tries to frame him for murder. Though he is officially relieved of his duties, Garrison doesn't stop trying to prove his innocence and save the president's life. Relying on heavy dialogue, Petievich glosses over many details in an effort to keep the action hopping. Although the book's one plot thread is compelling, the story would have benefited from greater dimension. (Berkley, $7.50 384p ISBN 0-425-18879-5)

Wendy Corsi Staub's She Loves Me Not details the domestic dramas of a single mother who has been targeted by a killer. Ever since Rose Larabee lost her husband and underwent heart transplant surgery, she's had troubles making ends meet. But now she has a new problem—a stalker who sends her eerie, heart-shaped gifts. Rose's friends try to convince her that the gifts may not be as sinister as she suspects, but when her boss, bookstore owner Luke Pfleuger, turns up dead on her lawn, it becomes clear that her "secret admirer" may be a murderer. The novel chugs along slowly as Staub (In the Blink of an Eye, etc.) describes Rose's domestic struggles. Indeed, some readers may forget that this is a thriller, not a work of women's fiction. Too tame to appeal to fans of the former and too dark for fans of the latter, this genre-bending tale will have difficulties finding its niche. (Pinnacle, $6.99 368p ISBN 0-7860-1424-7)

Readers seduced by the first two books in JoAnn Ross's Callahan Brothers trilogy (Blue Bayou; River Road) will be equally charmed by Magnolia Moon. When charismatic Nate Callahan, the mayor of Blue Bayou, La., tracks down Los Angeles homicide detective Regan Hart to deliver a journal and a tidy sum in stock certificates left to her by her birth mother, Nate is surprised by Regan's reaction. She isn't interested in her inheritance, but she's stunned to learn that she's adopted. To uncover the truth about her past, Regan returns to Blue Bayou, where she delves into the mystery behind her mother's death and becomes intimately involved with Nate. Meanwhile, Nate receives temporary custody of an abused 12-year-old runaway. Ross focuses heavily on the topic of domestic violence, and her frequent moralizing may put off some readers. Others, however, will be sufficiently beguiled by the book's Southern ambiance and pleasing, if predictable, romance. (Pocket, $6.99 384p ISBN 0-7434-5743-9)