Don't Look Back (Lavinia Lake / Tobias March) [Kindle Edition]

Amanda Quick (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Setting: Regency England

Sensuality: 7

A London lady who's skilled in the practice of mesmerism, Lavinia Lake has launched a new career as a private investigator, a startling and slightly scandalous occupation for a woman in Regency England. Strong-willed and independent, Lavinia isn't a typical society widow, a fact which alternately attracts and frustrates her enigmatic partner, Tobias March. Lavinia and Tobias have a prickly and passionate relationship, and Tobias is determined to protect her, while Lavinia is just as determined to be an equal partner in their business.

When the wife of mesmerist Dr. Howard Hudson is murdered and a rare antique bracelet known as the Blue Medusa disappears, the doctor seeks Lavinia's help. Tobias is reluctant to become involved in the matter but Lavinia feels compelled to help her late father's associate. Their attempt to uncover the murderer leads them to obscure antiquities dealers, secret organizations, amoral heirs, and ladies of the evening. And when a madman threatens Lavinia's life, only Tobias can hope to save her.

Lavinia Lake and Tobias March began their adventures in the novel Slightly Shady, and in this second installment, author Jayne Ann Krentz, writing under her Amanda Quick pseudonym, further develops the couple's romantic relationship while entangling them in a murder mystery enhanced by an exploration of ancient British jewelry. The author also introduces a charming secondary couple in the mix of eccentric and interesting cast members. Fans of historical romance and mystery will welcome this latest offering from bestselling author Krentz. --Lois Faye Dyer

From Publishers Weekly

In this sequel to last year's Slightly Shady, bestseller Quick brings back the winning detective duo of Lake and March for another mysterious romp through Regency London. Settling in to a partnership both professional and personal, Lavinia Lake and Tobias March take on a case deeply intertwined with Lavinia's own past. An old family friend, the mesmerist Dr. Howard Hudson, introduces the couple to his beautiful young wife, Celeste, and not long after, Celeste is brutally murdered. Was she murdered for the sake of an ancient jewel, the Blue Medusa, reputed to confer upon the wearer mysterious powers? The Blue Medusa is missing, stolen from the household of the senile nobleman who last possessed it. As the investigation proceeds apace, both Lavinia's niece Emmeline and Tobias's brother-in-law, Anthony, insist that they wish to become investigators, too, apprenticing themselves to the older couple despite objections. A secondary romance between the younger couple offers a charming counterpoint to the growing relationship between Lavinia and Tobias. While Tobias endeavors to protect Lavinia from the danger looming from her own past, Lavinia goes about solving the case in her own way, resulting in a dramatic confrontation with the killer. Though the suspense is low-key throughout, Quick nevertheless pulls the reader along with her eminently readable blend of humor, sharp dialogue and well-paced plotting. Readers can only hope that they have not seen the last of Lake and March.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 491 KB
• Publisher: Bantam (April 1, 2003)
• Sold by: Random House Digital, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000FBFOUK
• Text-to-Speech: Not enabled
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #25,936 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

More About the Author

With a string of bestselling Regency and Victorian Era romantic-suspense novels under her quill, AMANDA QUICK (who also writes under the pen names JAYNE ANN KRENTZ and JAYNE CASTLE) entered the world of a highly secretive paranormal group, the ARCANE SOCIETY, with her novel SECOND SIGHT. The series moved into a contemporary setting when JAYNE ANN KRENTZ (Amanda's contemporary alter-ego) released the second book in the series, WHITE LIES.

This winter, the ARCANE SOCIETY continues with THE LOOKING GLASS TRILOGY. It begins with IN TOO DEEP by Jayne Ann Krentz this December. Amanda is working on QUICKSILVER, her Spring 2011 contribution is book 2 in the series. The trilogy will conclude when JAYNE CASTLE releases CANYONS OF NIGHT, the futuristic novel, in Summer 2011.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I wish I could have 3½ stars, June 4, 2002

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Don't Look Back (Hardcover)

"Don't Look Back" presents Lavinia Lake and Tobias March ("Slightly Shady") with a new case for their fledgling company which conducts " inquiries of a personal and private nature." An old family friend, Howard Hudson, hires Lavinia to discover the murderer of his wife Celeste and to find the missing artifact known as The Blue Medusa. The plot of the novel is rather straight forward with very few turns and twist. Anyone who is a fan of mysteries will almost immediately be able to figure out who the murderer is and how the Blue Medusa was stolen. And of course, the reader is left with the knowledge that there will be a third book in this series.

For me the more interesting aspect of the novel were the characters. Lavinia and Tobias are equally stubborn and controlling which causes constant clashes as their love affair grows. Tobias, a man of mystery, but not quiet mysterious enough, has the urge to be absolutely in control of Lavinia's actions in order to protect her. However, Lavinia, the typical Quick heroine, a 21st century woman in Regency England, does not wish nor feels the need to be protected. The secondary characters, Anthony, Tobias' brother-in-law, and Emeline, Lavinia's niece, have now fallen in love and are in the process of developing their own personal problems. Both characters are still rather shallow without a lot of personality, but I suspect we will see them again and hope that they will develop more in the next book. Mrs. Chilton, the housekeeper and the buyer of currants provides the reader with some comic relief and a wishful longing for the old Amanda Quick who wrote "I Thee Wed", "Mistress", and "Seduction".

Amanda Quick seems to have changed her writing style in her last four novels. Her plots were never exceedingly strong; however her characters were very well drawn and had, for a lack of a better term, real life in them. They were delightful and drove the story rather than the plot driving the story. Now we have characters who are just there. They show sparks of life, but that is about it. Regardless,"Don't Look Back" is worth reading while on an airplane or sunning on the beach. It's a formula book, or what I call Bubble Gum for the mind. It doesn't require a lot of thinking, but it can entertain. I can only hope that Ms. Quick isn't resorting to lack luster books to satisfy her publisher's deadlines or to simply make money. I long for the old Amanda Quick whom I read when I first started to read romantic novels. I hope she will appear again.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I Miss the Old Amanda Quick, October 31, 2002

By 

Dawn Jones (Delaware) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Don't Look Back (Hardcover)

This was a delightful book and I enjoyed reading it however I miss the passion and sizzle of her earlier books. The characters are like old friends if you read the first book. Lavinia and Tobias are like a cat and a dog trapped in a bag when they are tying to solve this case but when the passion ignites between them you find yourself looking for a bed for them.The plot is very interesting and the villian believable. This book was enjoyable but I borrowed it from the library instead of purchasing it. I would purchase this book as a papperback but not hard back.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Same old, same old, July 9, 2002

By 

"lcwilliams" (Cannes, France) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Don't Look Back (Hardcover)

I found this latest Lake & March installment, DON'T LOOK BACK to be utterly boring, a real sleep-inducer. I agree with one of the previous reviewers who wrote that the characters are not very likeable. In fact they have become measurably duller, dimmer, shallower, and crabbier since their last appearance in SLIGHTLY SHADY. There is NO tension in this book and the dialogue is imminently forgettable. I was particularly disappointed because I thought that JAK was finally getting her groove back with SUMMER IN ECLIPSE BAY, which was really pretty good.

For those of you who have been reading JAK forever (like me), DON'T LOOK BACK is a tepid, uninspired reworking of her Guinevere Jones series published in the late 80's with a change of setting and the now de rigueur, motif-du-jour (hypnotism & Gallo-Roman antiquities).

I hate to say it because I hate to think that I've continued to pay top $$$ for JAK's mediocre hard covers all these years ... but the last book that she wrote that really zinged me was "The Golden Chance" in 1992. Just about everything else since then has been a gimmicky, tongue-firmly-in-cheek, self-parody of one or more of her earlier writing successes.

Recommendation to new readers: Skip the recent stuff and find JAK's back list previous to 1993. You won't be sorry.