Deadly Pleasure [Mass Market Paperback]

Brenda Joyce (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 15, 2002

Brenda Joyce has enthralled millions of readers with her New York Times bestselling novels. Now, join us in the next chapter of her unforgettable storytelling: the Francesca Cahill novels. Step into the glittering world of New York City's high society at the turn of the last century, where murder and pleasure are one and the same, and love becomes the ultimate weapon...

Francesca Cahill comes from one of New York's best families. Her mother is a leading socialite, her father, a millionaire. Their expectations for their daughter are simple-- marry well, and soon. But the intrepid and self-styled "Crime-Solver Extraordinaire" has other plans...

Francesca discovered she had a penchant for sleuthing when she met Rick Bragg, New York City's powerful and enigmatic Police Commissioner. Together, they solved what was known as the crime of the century. Now, their paths are destined to come together once again, but this time far more dangerously and fatefully. For Francesca is tempted to give in to the desire she and Rick have been resisting. And when Bragg's arch-rival Calder Hart arrives in town, a respectable man is suddenly found dead, and now murder is the name of the game...

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

The second installment in Joyce's romantic historical mystery series featuring Francesca Cahill, self-proclaimed Crime-Solver Extraordinaire, takes place between January 31 and February 4, 1902. A woman gripping one of Francesca's new business cards accosts her on the street and ensnares her in a murder investigation that once again teams her up with New York City Police Commissioner Rick Bragg. The man Francesca finds shot dead in his mistress's home is none other than the father of Bragg's bastard half-brother, Calder Hart, who is also one of the wealthiest men in New York. Although her wealthy socialite parents are vehemently opposed to her involvement with Bragg, they see Hart in a totally different light. Joyce's suspenseful tale and Francesca's earnest sleuthing may appeal to readers of the Fremont Jones series by Dianne Day if they don't mind a little explicit sex involving secondary characters. Diana Tixier Herald
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"The steamy revelations...are genuinely intriguing, and just enough of them are left unresolved at the book's end to leave readers waiting eagerly for the series' next installment."--Publishers Weekly on Deadly Love

"Fast-paced, sensual, and intriguing."--Library Journal on Deadly Love

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (March 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312977689
• ISBN-13: 978-0312977689
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #868,852 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Brenda Joyce is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of fourty-nine novels and five novellas. There are over fourteen million copies of her novels in print and she is published in over a dozen foreign countries. A native New Yorker, she now lives in southern Arizona with her son, dogs and numerous Arabian and Half-Arabian reining horses. Brenda divides her time between her twin passions' writing powerful love stories and her quest to become a nationally ranked Top Ten equestrian. For more information about Brenda and her upcoming novels, please visit her websites: www.brendajoyce.com, www.francescacahillseries.com www.thedewarennedynasty.com and www.mastersoftimebooks.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful "Deadly" Series by Brenda Joyce, April 1, 2002

By 

Lilly Rabalais (Alexandria, LA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Deadly Pleasure (Mass Market Paperback)

Brenda Joyce's ongoing "Deadly" Series is wonderful. Francesca Cahill and Rick Bragg work wonderfully together and are falling in love with each other though Rick is married. His wife has been in Europe for 4 years and he is supporting her. The first in the series was Deadly Love, then Deadly Pleasure, and now Deadly Affairs. Deadly Desire will follow in May 2002. Other interesting characters are Connie (Fran's sister) and Neil, her husband, Calder (Rick's half brother), Evan (Fran's brother) who is engaged to Sarah and neither are happy with this engagement,
Maggie (Joel's mother and Fran's assistant). You will enjoy the crime solving by Francesca who is not like most young ladies of wealth in the 1902s. Read the books in order. You'll enjoy the suspense and the developing relationship between Rick and Fran.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Really a Romance, August 3, 2004

By 

Karen Mercury (Green River, UT United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Deadly Pleasure (Mass Market Paperback)

I wanted to read this for the fresh setting and time--New York, 1902. Joyce does a fantastic job of making me see the surroundings, furnishings, sounds and smells. However, halfway through the book something hit me: The [...]the heroine embarrasses herself by continually throwing herself at him. He's told her at least five times in no uncertain terms there can be nothing between them. To my mind, that leaves romance out of the picture.

The dialogue is distracting. Nobody speaks in contractions. It's always "I do not think. I will be going. I hope you are not intending. You do not mean that!" Some other irritating character quirks, such as Francesca constantly "gasping" and in one 3-page scene she wet her lips four times. Why even once, I don't know.

I appreciate the picture she paints of that period in NY history. It's colorful and glamorous to read about. But I agree with other readers that Calder Hart would've made a better "hero" instead of that surly, nasty stiff, Bragg.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Too Quick to Judge, May 10, 2002

By 

Alana Fraddosio "miaka96" (Fl, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Deadly Pleasure (Mass Market Paperback)

I have been reading all the reviews to the Deadly Series and I am disappointed in what people say. This series was not written so that the end of each book was the end of the entire series. Also the time frame in which the books occur is only two weeks per book, so the pace in alot slower than it would be if it was just one book. The second aspect is that the characters continue to grow and develope in the next two books. I have read the enitre series and thought it was some great work by Brenda Joyce. The Deadly Series did not start off as a romance series, but more of a historical mystery/suspense series, the romance begins to develope in the end of Deadly Love and continued on into Deadly Pleasure. Each book was better than the next in my opinion. In the fourth book, Deadly Desire, the relationship between the characters have heated up considerably. I can't wait for the next book in the series to come out.