According to her Web site (www.LyndaLynda.com), Lynda Sandoval writes romance for Silhouette Special Edition and romantic suspense for Silhouette Intimate Moments - both Harlequin romance divisions - and romantic comedy for Harlequin Flipside. That explains a lot about her new work of fiction, Unsettling.

This novel tells the tale of a 35-year-old female cop in Denver about to marry the perfect guy. The conflict arises from protagonist Lucy Olivera's fears that her family's curse - that all Olivera first marriages end in divorce - spells inevitable doom for her and husband-to-be, Ruben.

Enter Lucy's three friends: Mercedes, a successful magazine editor just dumped by a loser boyfriend; Cristina, a society gal recently picked up for shoplifting; and Annette, a super mom who's over it. The saga involves getting Lucy to the altar under the influence of Vicodin, her runaway stunt after the ceremony and the four women's quest to track down a wise woman who's supposed to have the answers that will ultimately help each woman heal her respective defects.

As promising as the story might seem, Sandoval's tale falls flat, seems contrived and begs for any sort of artistry and sophistication that might breathe some life, complexity or interest into a group of stereotypical characters. Readers may want to relate to them, but will be forced, instead, to accept them on their respective superficial levels.

That Sandoval springs from the romance novel genre (and was "discovered" by Harper Collins vis à vis a local newspaper article about her) proffers some understanding, even forgiveness, that the plot feels more like a concept, a hook, than anything resembling literature.

The conflict of this work is built on the premise that not only does every one of the Oliveras suffer a guaranteed divorce first time around, they're also colorful and celebratory about this quirky element of their family. This message is spelled out in the opening scene of the Olivera women's bridal shower for Lucy.

As an angst-filled Lucy (fearful she'll soon be divorcing) enters the shower, she says: "'It's just hard Mama' . . . Mama squeezed her shoulder, prompting a sting of tears to form behind Lucy's eyes.

"'But don't worry,' (says Mama). 'You'll have lots of good times before the break up, baby.' "

The "Olivera Curse" is simply a hard bit to buy, even with the suspension of disbelief thrust into overdrive. To further the shaky set-up, every one of Sandoval's supporting cast harbors a Big Time Broken - and token - dysfunction. Sandoval conspicuously covers all of the bases, proffering a rich one, a poor one, a pretty one and perfect one.

Mercedes, the perfunctory "career success" is so over-the-top bitchy as a New York City magazine editor, she's a caricature. Cristina's the hometown-girl-married-rich who - surprise, surprise - is a kleptomaniac. Annette's the requisite tired-of-life but angelic mom. And, naturally perfection is placed on the cop-bride Lucy and sexy-cop, ubersupportive fiancé, Ruben.

Sandoval's knowledge of Denver haunts and local bars will be enjoyable to those who know the city. Moreover, as a former police officer, it's fun to get an enter-through-the-backdoor view of cops' thoughts.

Unfortunately, these tidbits do not make for a memorable book. Sandoval aims her work, via a well-worn, formulaic path, toward an audience that is content with knowing what comes next, that enjoys characters built predictably and simple.

Romance readers and older-than-chick-lit bibliophiles can, then, rejoice in Sandoval's latest work. Readers wanting some subtext and a touch of tapestry-weaving within a tale may want to look elsewhere.

Cathie Beck is a Denver short story writer and journalist.