Lady Killer/Secret Admirer (2 Books in One) [Mass Market Paperback]

Michele Jaffe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 30, 2002

TWO SENSATIONAL NOVELS FOR ONE GREAT PRICE!

Two murderers stalk their prey throughout England—from the glittering ballrooms of London to the loneliest country lanes—and two romances blossom in their dark shadows . . .

LADY KILLER
Three years ago Miles Loredan believed he had killed the bloodthirsty fiend known as the Vampire of London. When a beautiful sleuth named Clio Thornton stumbles upon what can only be the Vampire’s latest victim, Miles is drawn into a terrifying race against the clock. Captivated at once by intelligent, lovely Clio, his first impulse is to protect her. Because every clue points to the Vampire’s next victim: Clio.

SECRET ADMIRER
Lady Tuesday Arlington seeks refuge from the horrible nightmares that invade her sleep by doing what she does best—she paints them. But when her husband is found dead in a setting identical to one she has painted, she becomes the prime suspect. Lawrence Pickering, special investigator to Her Majesty, the Queen, takes over the inquiry and cannot help but fall for the beautiful and talented Tuesday. But a cruelly sinister presence waits to turn their picture-perfect love into a masterpiece of murder.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Set in London in the late 1500s, this hefty volume offers two distinctly different but equally pleasing paranormal thrillers in one tidy package. In Secret Admirer, a killer with a fixation for the letter W is messing with Lady Tuesday Arlington's pretty head. The Lion, as he calls himself, seems to be able to invade Tuesday's dreams and turn them into horrific nightmares that come true. When Tuesday unknowingly paints the scene of her abusive husband's grisly murder, she becomes the prime suspect, until she becomes a target. The reader soon learns, however, that it isn't Tuesday the Lion is after; it's Tuesday's new beau, Lawrence Pickering, head of Her Majesty's operation against smuggling. This stylishly abstract offering will challenge the attention span with its abrupt scene changes, surrealistic tone and harebrained heroine, who withholds vital information despite being faced with the threat of arrest. Still, there are enough surprising plot twists and enigmatic secondary characters to propel readers to finish this turbulent read and launch right into Jaffe's (The Water Nymph) next offering, a comedic mystery featuring detective Clio Thornton and her smart, simian sidekick, Toast. Clio is already on the outs with her wealthy relatives for taking after her adventurous father; now she risks losing her allowance by disrupting her cousin's marriage to Viscount Miles Loredan. Miles supposedly killed the Vampire of London three years earlier, but Clio is convinced the creature has resurfaced. To replenish her dwindling cash flow, Clio proposes that Miles hire her to track down the vampire, an offer Miles has his own reasons for refusing. With a cast of hundreds and a dozen or so sub-plots to keep up with, readers may find themselves floundering for a solid foothold in both books, but fans of tall tales featuring supernatural killers will consider this a bargain at twice the price.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

“Sexy . . . Breathtaking . . .
Full of suspense and drama . . .
A wonderfully original read.”
—JANE FEATHER

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 896 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (April 30, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345455622
• ISBN-13: 978-0345455628
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.4 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,335,628 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Historical Romance with a Mystery Twist, May 26, 2002

By 

Sheri Melnick (Enola, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lady Killer/Secret Admirer (2 Books in One) (Mass Market Paperback)

Ms. Jaffe presents a new voice in the sub genre of historical romance with her latest duo of sixteenth century mysteries. In the first, a vampire novel, Miles Loredan, Viscount Dearbourn is averse to complying with his betrothal contract to marry Lady Mariana Nonesuch. When Miles meets the beautiful sleuth, Clio Thornton, cousin of Mariana, he employs Clio as a ruse to keep her in his protection. For the Vampire of London has returned, though Miles thought he had killed him three years prior.

The love scenes are very sensual amidst the backdrop of the wealthy splendor of sixteenth century English nobility. And the mystery of the bodies left behind by the vampire adds a unique twist to the traditional historical romance.

On the flip side of this book is another sixteenth century mystery in which Lady Tuesday Arlington is considered the prime suspect in her husband's murder. Lawrence Pickering, earl of Arden, and England's primary investigator of smuggling begins to follow Tuesday's every move, as she has painted the murder scene where her husband was found. When Tuesday continues to paint more murder scenes, Lawrence starts to become involved with her romantically, though he is bemused by her knowledge of the crime scenes. Is the real murderer stalking Tuesday, possibly using her paintings to stage the backdrop for murder?

Descriptively intimate love scenes are frequent and varied throughout this read. The romantic tension is palpable and reminiscent of Judith McNaught. Add in the mysterious murderer/secret admirer, and you have a true page-turner.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A miss, not a hit., May 4, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Lady Killer/Secret Admirer (2 Books in One) (Mass Market Paperback)

I too really liked Michele Jaffe's earlier books and was eager to read these. But they are not of the same caliber. SECRET ADMIRER is set during the Renaissance, yet the characters behave and speak like modern people. They do not behave true to their time period. It's disconcerting. And the action is abrupt, moving from point to point without taking the reader along. Where oh where was the editor?

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and Exhilarating, August 8, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Lady Killer/Secret Admirer (2 Books in One) (Mass Market Paperback)

I have enjoyed Michele Jaffe's writing style in her first two books. By far The Water Nymph is still my favorite book by her, but these two lived up to my expectations of them. They were suspenseful and spinetingling. While spinetingling is not a word that is usually associated with romance Michele Jaffe makes it so by her masterful descriptions of the ofthen bloody crimes that her characters thwart or solve.