The Price of Passion

This contemporary tale of a woman wronged fails to chart new territory, but engages with its attractive, sympathetic heroine. Up-and-coming black Texas state representative Walter Carlson has a history of philandering, but when he dumps the baby he recently fathered with his latest mistress on his long-suffering (and infertile) wife, Vivian, it is the last straw. Livid, Vivian is forced into keeping the infant when her husband holds a press conference and announces that they have adopted a homeless baby. Soon, however, Vivian succumbs to her maternal needs and falls in love with the infant, whom she names Passion. She determines to leave Walter, taking Passion with her, and begins a struggle to maintain her law-student schedule, spend time with her baby and find adequate child care. Rescue comes in the form of Marc Kline, a divorced father and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer who teaches at the local university and is working on a book about adoption. A subplot about Passion's birth mother adds suspense, as well as a touch of originality, to the otherwise pedestrian romance. Walter, who belatedly comprehends the value of a good woman and wants Vivian back in his life, gets a satisfying, if heavy-handed, comeuppance. (Oct.)