Mass Market Note

Sharon Robinson, the daughter of sports hero Jackie Robinson and author of the memoir Stealing Home, spins a slight romance focusing on father-daughter dynamics and betrayal in her fiction debut, Still the Storm. Fiery Jennifer Kelly, a professional fundraiser, has returned to her family home in Connecticut on a mission to find the half-sister she never met and to confront her father for his deception. In the process, she gets sidetracked by Michael Wingate, a savvy politician who's determined to be the state's first African-American senator. After very little persuading, Jennifer agrees to work for Michael, but mid-campaign, a ghost from his past resurfaces, threatening their relationship and his bid for election. Robinson's story line brims with potential, but her pedestrian prose and stilted dialogue do little to illuminate characters or relationships. (Genesis Press, $8.95 256p ISBN 1-58571-061-X)