The Next Mrs. Blackthorne

September 1, 2005
Jocelyn is engaged to widower Clay Blackthorne, a federal judge in Austin, and savvy enough to know that she is an outsider in the rough-and-tumble feud between two rich and powerful families: the Blackthornes and the Grayhawks. So she decides to help. North Grayhawk is interested in her, so she makes him an offer: herself in his bed if he agrees to give back his shares of the Blackthornes' land. He is a cold man, but he agrees. Clay deduces what she is doing and says he'll wait for her. Meanwhile, his daughter, Kate, devises her own plan. Libby, North's sister, and Clay were once in love, but their families kept them apart. Kate now manages to bring them together as North and Jocelyn fall in love. But Kate has to be put in danger's way before the two feuding families finally settle their differences. With a soap-opera plot and manly men and tempestuous women, Johnston's dramatic tale is " Dallas, Dynasty, " and " Bonanza" all rolled into one. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)