DAUGHTER OF MARIGNAC

Offering less dark-turreted mystery than in her Ravensley romances, pro-producer Heaven sets down her latest heroine in the turmoil of Napoleon III's shaky reign and the Prussian occupation of Paris, 1870-71. Louise du Vallon, half-English, hasn't seen her papa Pierre since he was taken away on charges of treason over ten years ago. Now, in 1867 Paris with her uncle/guardian and his family, motherless Louise catches a hint that Papa, apparently sent to the Crimea, might still be alive. She also meets her grandfather, the Marquis de Marignac, a chilly old aristocrat who long ago ordered Pierre from the ancestral halls because of his ""radical ideas""; he now hopes that Louise will beef up his estate via a rich marriage. And Louise finds love as well, of course--in US Capt. Jay Delamaine, who escorts her to Marignac, the Marquis' pile far outside Paris. Once established at Marignac, Louise will encounter: classy Gaston de Nerac, an impoverished cousin; Baron Joseph Constant, with pots of money and a ""jutting nose, forceful chin and full sensual mouth""; his naughty companion, Princess Anna von Karlberg; and finally, Papa--who at first refuses to recognize her! But Papa will eventually explain all, while Louise is being pressured to wed the Baron. And finally, as the Communards (of whom Papa was a leader) and Prussian ambitions begin to rattle slogans and sabers in Paris, the familial/amorous troubles head for a showdown: Louise clobbers the Baron with statuary; the Marquis has a heart attack when Pierre confronts him; the Baron moves to revenge; and Louise and Jay, through crossed signals, are on and off again--until everything and everybody is sorted out. Hardly a dazzler, but serviceable enough for the Heaven-ly following.