Smooth Talking Stranger

Finding herself responsible for her troubled sister's newborn son, advice columnist Ella Varner is determined to track down the baby's father so she can get back to her own life. The first of her sister's former dates she confronts is Houston playboy, Jack Travis—who disarms her with his charm and sincerity. Her growing affection for both the baby and Jack throws her ordered life and her relationship with her boyfriend, Dane, into upheaval. Emily Durante provides a polished reading; her voice is smooth and pleasing, but her light tone and youthful manner of speaking would be better matched with a younger character than this book's strong heroine. A St. Martin's hardcover (Reviews, Feb. 2). (Mar.)