Finders, Keepers

Nickolae's first novel displays ingenuity in its plot, about a stolen child, and daring in its lighthearted treatment. Gypsy-like traveling artist Shannon Buchanan (aka Valeria Valentine, Summer Knight et al.) is arrested in Monterey, Calif., for abducting Mandy, aged two and one half, a year previously. Both Shannon and an incredibly mature Mandy claim they are mother and daughter, but Inspector Phil Tewkes gives the little girl to the parents who rejoice at the return of their Suzy. Or is she? Tewkes's uncertainties about the case increase along with his romantic feelings toward Shannon, motivating him to a far-ranging investigation of the woman's checkered past as well as of Mandy's alleged birth record. The twisting plot and seesaw incidents generate a suspense resolved in rather facile fashion, given the terrible reality of lost or threatened children. (July)