A gown of Spanish lace

Using a plot that owes much to Zane Grey, who himself owed a great deal to Walter Scott, Oke places a young schoolmarm, Ariana Benson, in harm's way and then joins her with the man she loves. Ariana is kidnapped and held for ransom by a band of outlaws--turns out though, that the boss' son, Laramie Lawrence, has a conscience and even an incipient faith. He steals Ariana from the outlaws, and on a long trek to Montana, the two fall in love. Laramie becomes a Christian, but a missing cuff on Ariana's inherited wedding gown shows up in Laramie's long-dead mother's trunk, linking the two as brother and sister, separated years before when Indians massacred their parents. Tough break, but further research reveals that they are not related, and so the marriage can proceed. Oke is the grande dame of Christian fiction, and her latest is likely to join The Bluebird and the Sparrow , her previous work, on the evangelical Christian best-seller list. (Reviewed August 1995)1556616902John Mort