Never Lie to a Lady [Mass Market Paperback]

Liz Carlyle (Author)

Book Description

Series: Never | Publication Date: June 19, 2007

In her dazzling new historical trilogy, New York Times bestselling author Liz Carlyle plunges readers into the steamy underworld of nineteenth-century London. Among the swirling glitter of English high society, a scandalous rogue gets more than he bargained for in the lady of his desires.

Lord Nash is a creature of the night -- his wealth and title provide but a tenuous entrée into polite society. Notorious for his sophisticated manners and a dark, dashing elegance, rumors abound of the men he has bankrupted and the women he's left heartbroken. But when Nash leaves his lair for a rare foray into the ton, he faces a lure of temptation all his own -- an extraordinary moment of passion with a mysterious lady in the moonlight -- and an obsession that will lead him into a hellish world of smugglers, spies, and intrigue. And as for his damsel in disguise, the witty and beautiful Miss Xanthia Neville, he soon learns, is as unattainable as she is tempting. And now Nash must decide if she is also dangerous. . . .

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Xanthia Neville knows exactly how to run a successful worldwide shipping business, but navigating the social waters of the ton is another matter entirely. At a London soiree, the mystery man with whom Xanthia shares a kiss turns out to be notorious rake and gamester Stefan Northampton, the Marquess of Nash. Xanthia knows that any romantic liaison with Stefan is social suicide, but she can't forget the dark and dangerous lord. Xanthia gets a second chance with Stefan when the British government asks her to use her business connections to look into Stefan's possible connections to gun-smuggling in Greece, and Xanthia soon finds herself ensnared in a dangerous game of seduction and intrigue with the sublimely sexy Stefan. With the first in an irresistible new trilogy, Carlyle cleverly fashions another of her fabulously rich confections certain to captivate readers with its delightfully unique heroine, deliciously dark hero, and delectably witty writing. Charles, John

Review

"Liz Carlyle weaves passion and intrigue with a master's touch." -- Karen Robards, New York Times bestselling author

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Books (June 19, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416527141
• ISBN-13: 978-1416527145
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #273,262 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

During her frequent travels to London, Liz always packs her pearls, her dancing slippers, and her whalebone corset, confident in the belief that eventually she will receive an invitation to a ball or a rout. Alas, none has been forthcoming. While waiting, however, she has managed to learn where all the damp, dark alleys and low public houses can be found.



When Liz isn't living in the 19th century, she resides in Cary, North Carolina with her husband, a corporate attorney, and their four very fine felines.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Relax, lie back and think of England...., June 22, 2007

By 

C. Farley "seafaire" (Bakersfield, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Never Lie to a Lady (Mass Market Paperback)

This is a delightful, big old chunk of a book that refuses to be hurried. The author is a master of this genre and not for a moment will your reading pleasure be taken for granted. We care greatly for the male/female leads seeing in both of them the pain of the outsider and how their very forward-thinking behavior contrasts with the rest of the stuffy ton. Plus the secondary characters!!! There are enough wily servants, clever Scots, Irish, effeminate "stylists/decorators" and plotting family members to stock a small Shakespeare company. Each one is carefully personalized--individual enough so that we enjoy their character, smile at their interference in the leads' lives and wait for their next "bit o' business". Of course, there are subplots, spy deals, smuggling and all that kind of window dressing but appropriate for the time and the business of international shipping--which our female lead handles with ease and independance. If you need to rush--this book is not for you. But for a lovely vacation or all that time waiting in the orthodontist's office--this gem is perfect.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Oh, Liz Carlyle - you can do better than this. I'm disappointed., August 27, 2007

By 

mlle. x (California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Never Lie to a Lady (Mass Market Paperback)

Liz Carlyle is capable of so much, so I don't know what happened here. I guess that she decided to pick up a few of the successful elements from previous books - a practical, business-minded woman who can compete in a man's world, a dastardly rake, fierce sexuality, a hint of intrigue - and hoped that if she tossed them together any which way the results would be satisfactory. Well, she was wrong.

What bothered me here is that Xanthia and Nash's relationship is so exclusively sexual that although I totally believed that they were hot for one another, and would go out of their way to arrange trysts and such, I never saw any kind of loving or emotional attachment developing at the same time. The kiss, they grope in public, they meet in back alleys; ok, sure. All of the soulmate, yearning for one another, emotional trappings just seemed like the kind of self-deception so many people indulge in when they don't want to see how simple and base their own motives really are.

If Liz Carlyle were writing erotica, this might fly - but she's not, she's writing a romance where the love connection never happens. And the book suffers as a result.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Full-strength Carlyle, June 28, 2007

By 

Suburbanbushbabe™ "Insatiable reader" (New England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Never Lie to a Lady (Mass Market Paperback)

Carlyle's most recent efforts, while they were quite enjoyable, don't quite pack the punch of earlier books like No True Gentleman or My False Heart, both of which are on my keeper shelf. With Never Lie to A Lady, Carlyle is drinking caffeine again. A strong, beautiful heroine who runs a business and has needs of her own; a libertine English marquess by way of Montenegro who hates the Turks. Two people drawn to each other, a gun-running plot and the search for a spy. Carlyle knows her pre-Victorian London and she draws it almost as well as Barry Eisler does Tokyo in his Rain series. The difference is Carlyle's London hasn't existed for almost 200 years. But you see the Docklands and the Pool, the bustling commerce, the lawns running down to a rural Thames. If you loved Max Rohan and Elliott Armstrong, the Marquess of Nash is cut from the same exciting cloth. And Max and George Kemble are back in this book, partners in crime-fighting yet again. I read this book from cover to cover in one sitting.