RECKLESS ABANDON

Love conquers all in a slightly raunchy novel in which mystery and romance battle it out for prominence. Three lively divorc‚es--gorgeous artist Nell, local newspaperwoman Lily, wealthy and never-manless Kit--are immediately smitten when they first see Nell's new neighbor--a mystery man with a dog. But does he have something to do with a local drug-smuggling ring; the disappearance of a suspected smuggler; the murder of Officer Banks; the other murder of lingerie-shop owner Claudia McKee? Though dependant on her nice, stable fianc‚ Paul, Nell is drawn to the dashing mystery man, even when Dugan, a self-proclaimed federal agent, is clearly tailing him. Meanwhile, Paul abruptly leaves for a new job in Luxembourg (he never arrives); Lily's son plays snoop and is kidnapped; and Lily herself seems to be in cahoots with the enigmatic Mr. Mystery Man--who turns out to be the dead Claudia's first husband, a man she bled dry while he toiled nobly for several major ecology groups (Greenpeace et al.). A boat ride at gunpoint resolves one set of crimes (industrial dumping leading to murder), while a mailed confession explains another (drug smuggling). The women and their lusts are amusingly diverting, but the plotting jettisons common sense early on, with not much left to interest detection fans.