A Dangerous Man [Paperback]

Connie Brockway (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2, 1996

Mercy Coltrane, a brash young American woman, travels to England to search for her estranged brother.  Strident in her quest, she seeks out the help of Hart Moreland, whom she knew years ago as Duke the Gunslinger, the hired gun her father enlisted to protect his land.  Now Earl of Perth, Hart is back in his native England in a hard-earned position of respect and power, and the last thing he wants is a reminder of his dishonorable past.  But Mercy Coltrane proves to be much more than just a painful reminder of the life he left behind.  Vibrant, beautiful, and witty, Mercy embodies the life of happiness that Hart desperately craves.  Connie Brockway is an author who understands the underlying fantasy of romance and dazzles readers with her emotional perception of love.  She writes with keen intelligence about the most important desires of the human heart.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

After many years abroad, the mysterious and aloof Earl of Perth, Hart Moreland, returns to England for a house party celebrating the impending betrothal of his sister. When the outspoken and beautiful Mercy Coltrane appears on the scene, Hart knows he's in big trouble. It turns out that Mercy knows all about the elusive earl's past and, most importantly, remembers him from his Texas gun-slinging days?when he shot her. The witty, endearing heroine and the cool, dangerous hero may be romantic cliches, but Brockway (Promise Me Heaven) keeps the repartee fresh. Things slow a bit after the intriguing prologue, but the pace builds again to an exciting and well-planned finale.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Hart Moreland is the Earl of Perth, a fine example of English society. To most people he is an enigma, a cold-hearted, emotionless man subject to scrutiny and speculation whenever he makes an appearance. Women pursue him to find out what lies beneath the facade but Hart's only interest is providing for his sisters, and assuring that his youngest sister, Annabelle, is married to the man of her choice. In looking after his sisters, he has been forced to do things he'd rather not admit. His time in America is a dark secret he intends to keep. Looking for her brother, Mercy Coltrane knows there is only one person who can help her. When he was a hired gun for her father, they called him "Duke." Now Mercy is in England and seeking Hart's help. She knows what he's capable of-- she has the bullet wound to prove it. Her brother is in London and in some kind of trouble and Mercy must find him. She will do whatever it takes to help her brother-- even if she has to blackmail Hart to help her. As Mercy entertains her English hosts with her delightfully forward American ways, Hart finds his past coming back to haunt him. He tells Mercy to forget her brother and he speaks from bitter experience. But Hart can't forget Mercy and is compelled to help her even at the risk of his family's reputation. As the search for Mercy's brother continues, Mercy is involved in accidents that lead Hart to believe she is in danger. Mercy can heal Hart's tormented soul-if he opens his heart to her love. Connie Brockway has written a stunning love story that is humorous, heart wrenching and hopelessly romantic. Hart Moreland is an attractive and brooding hero while Mercy Coltrane balances his carefully controlled persona with her free spirited, straightforward attitude. Ms. Brockway's writing is flawless and fast paced-- this is one book you won't want to put down until the very end! A Dangerous Man is a delight to read! Connie Brockway is a gifted author who creates passionate, memorable characters! A shining example of what the romance genre has become! An incredible love story! Connie Brockway outdoes herself with this book! A sensual romance that will touch your heart! Exceptional! Highest praise goes to Connie Brockway!Kristina Wright -- Copyright © 1994-97 Literary Times, Inc. All rights reserved -- From Literary Times

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Dell; Regular Print/Single Titl edition (June 2, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440221986
• ISBN-13: 978-0440221982
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #825,404 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Connie Brockway has received starred reviews from both Publishers Weekly and the Library Journal which named My Seduction as one of 2004's top ten romances.

An eight time finalist for Romance Writers of America prestigious RITA award, Brockway has twice been its recipient, for My Dearest Enemy and The Bridal Season. In 2006 Connie wrote her first women's contemporary HOT DISH, which won critical raves.

Today Brockway lives in Minnesota with her husband, a family physician, and two spoiled mutts.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book by a great author..., July 31, 2005

By 

Nicole Wagner (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Dangerous Man (Paperback)

Couldn't get into this book for long time simply because the opening pages began as a western (I'm generally a regency only kinda gal)...so, consequently I missed out, for a long time, on a great book. There are some hilarious moments when the heroine, Mercy, is purposely getting titles wrong. Some sizziling moments that are drawn out, like the brush of a hand. And the hero's (Perth) love for the heroine is so desperate it makes your heart flutter. I have never been disappointed by Brockway. Why not 5 stars...few spelling errors (I am guilty of the same but I am not published), the matter of Perth's title first came from a cousin, then from an uncle. One of the main characters is named Fannie, which is the vulgar English slang word for vagina. And Mercy's hair was brown then red then brown again then red once more. Otherwise it was a fantastic read.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intensely Passionate, August 21, 2003

By 

Trisha A. Howell "Howell Canyon Press author" (Los Angeles, CA, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Dangerous Man (Paperback)

As usual, Connie Brockway has written a fascinating, heartbreaking, beautiful and triumphant love story in her intensely passionate novel, A Dangerous Man.

Wealthy and dazzling Mercy Coltrane has gone to England all the way from Texas to find her beloved brother, who has lost himself in London's Victorian underworld. Though she has been introduced into society with the ostensible purpose of finding a husband, she has the means to make only one man help her with her real objective: to find her brother so she can reconcile him with their father.

Hart Moreland, the Earl of Perth, had thought that his gun slinging days in Texas would remain secret, especially on the eve of assuring his last unmarried sister's engagement to Lord Acton-a marriage into the ton made possible with the funds he'd secretly amassed as a hired gun.

Mercy's arrival at the Duke of Acton's house party threatens all his plans and plays havoc with his senses. Not just because Mercy still bears the scar where he shot her six years before. And not only because she'll do anything to find her brother, including blackmail. Not even because she's the most beautiful, enchanting, smart and capable woman he's ever met. But because she's able to sense and to touch places inside him no one has ever seen before-places he himself cannot bear to face.

Connie Brockway masterfully develops the entertaining, deep and emotionally powerful relationship between Mercy and Hart with her characteristic finesse that brings them alive as people and makes the reader care deeply. Their witty and unwilling courtship develops into such a genuine yet heartbreakingly impossible love that the reader cannot put the book down for a second until their triumph is assured.

A Dangerous Man pleasurably explores the gamut of intense emotions and crackles with irresistible sensuality. It is a must for any romance reader.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars You know the saying "your past will catch up with you...", September 16, 2003

By 

janlouise (Ruston, LA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Dangerous Man (Paperback)

Mercy Coltrane has arrived in England to look for her brother that mysteriously disappeared. There is one man that can help her - the hired gunslinger that went by Hart Moreland when working for her father on their Texas ranch. He later returned to England and Mercy is out to find him to help her. While staying at her hostess' home, this wealthy, striking in looks (men can't take their eyes off her), and strong-willed woman is introduced to the Earl of Perth - a mysterious, cold-hearted, emotionless, serious man who is none other than Hart Moreland. He is there to accept the proposal of marriage for his sister. He has worked hard to make his family's reputation respectible and influential all to be lost now with his dishonorable past being revealed by Mercy. The only way of keeping her quiet is to work with her in find out the where abouts of her brother. Hart finds out that Mercy is also in danger of losing her life while he is in danger of losing his heart to her. No other woman has been able to break through that wall his placed around his heart until now. It truly is a sensual romance that will touch your heart. I hope you will read and enjoy it!