Notorious [Paperback]

Katherine Sutcliffe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 31, 2000

Victorian England sets the stage for a passionate, unforgettable romance between a diplomat's daughter and a notorious mercenary who has targeted her father for assassination.

"Sutcliffe writes romantic, exciting stories filled with memorable characters and delightful surprises."-Linda Lael Miller

"Without a doubt, Katherine Sutcliffe is one of the most powerful voices in the romantic genre." -Romantic Times

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Sutcliffe winds a tightly twisted plot around Lady Destiny Fontaine Chesterfield, a virgin widow whose gay husband committed suicide just months into their marriage and who then discovers carnal pleasures with a stranger in a forest glen. Lord Jason Batson is Cobra, a covert mercenary in service to the crown and specializing in deception, disguise, and assassination. His next target is Lord Fontaine, a diplomat in India who may have turned traitor. Meanwhile Destiny learns that her secret lover may pose a danger to her beloved father, so she sets out for India on board a ship captained by a hideously disfigured but kindly captain who is willing to marry her to give her unborn child a name. Her beloved Aunt Diana stows away on the ship, which also carries a beautiful young child, Lord Jason's daughter. The dangers faced on their adventurous journey are matched by perils in India as Sutcliffe renders graphically realistic detail and rigorous physical encounters in this compelling historical romance. Diana Tixier Herald
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Jove (October 31, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0515129488
• ISBN-13: 978-0515129489
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,090,020 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Notorious is a FABULOUS book!, October 31, 2000

By 

Hotclue "aka Beth Anderson, author and book r... (IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Notorious (Paperback)

In 1857, during the time of India's first uprising against the British government, Destiny Fontaine, a recent young widow whose loveless first marriage had never been consummated, meets Jason Batson in a secluded glade near her home in England. Unaware that Jason is a mercenary, hired by the British government to determine whether her father, along with Nana Sahib, is heading up India's rebellion, Destiny falls in love with him. This brief affair results in her pregnancy, which is not discovered until after Jason has spirited her aboard his ship, staffed with cutthroats and hired assassins and headed, in a deadly race against time, for India. Jason and the British government hope she will lead him to her father. Notorious is a stunning and accurate re-creation of a dark time in history, brilliantly interwoven with a passionate and dangerous love affair between two headstrong people who come from two different worlds. Ms Sutcliffe has blended the tapestry of these two worlds so well that you can taste the pungent spices in the marketplace, and your nose burns from the odor of smoke and the bloody carnage of war. You'll find yourself breathless over Destiny and Jason's turbulent love affair, and rapidly turning pages to see whether these two people and their unborn child can survive the danger constantly surrounding and bombarding them. This is by far the best historical romance I've ever read. Ms Sutcliffe has really outdone herself with this masterpiece novel; I can't recommend it highly enough. If I had to use a scale of one to ten, Notorious would have to be at least a twenty. No, make that a fifty.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars NOTORIOUS by Katherine Sutcliffe, November 21, 2000

By 

Suzanne Coleburn (Berlin, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Notorious (Paperback)

Setting: England - 1857 - the High Seas and India

Lord Jason Baston is really a mercenary for the Queen of England's Special Forces called Cobra. They are the ones who go in undercover and do the most dangerous jobs of killing and rescue to protect the Crown, and as the leader, Jason is the best there is. However, he has just spent a year in confinement and is only released because he agrees to take an assignment to assassinate Lord Fontaine, an Englishman, living in India, who is believed turned traitor. Jason locates Destiny Fontaine Chesterfield, his daughter, now a widow in England to find out what she knows about her father. Jason is very strong hero, he knows what to do in tight situations, and this is his dark side, but he has a caring heart as he has a special place for women and children, he's handsome as sin and has women melting at his feet. What will he do if he has to decide between the Crown and Destiny if her father, who is also a personal friend, is guilty of treason?

When Jason and Destiny meet you can just about hear the lightening bolts hit the ground. Ms. Sutcliffe is a master at creating electrifying characters and this reader was spellbound by all that went on between the two. Believe me it is very explosive and sometimes rough and raw as the dickens. Destiny is an innocent in many ways, but a strong willed woman that is beautiful and stubborn, a courage to match Jason's, and more importantly, she's about to rock Jason's world with passion. His rules are about to go to hell in a hand basket.

When Destiny finds out her father is in trouble she is determined to get to him even if it means she has to travel on a ship loaded with unsavory cutthroats, and an ugly captain who somehow reminds her of Jason. I loved the crew of mercenaries as their personalities are revealed through the book. To make matters worse, her aunt, Diana aka Cassandra, to my way of thinking, opens Pandora's Box and makes things chaotic for everyone as she stows away on the ship. She can make you so darn mad you are ready to throw her overboard. You never know what is going to happen next in this rousing adventure that is piled high with interesting characters and secrets, life at sea, and some hot sexy love scenes to blow you out of the water at the same time. And we're not even to India yet! <Grin> We still have the bloody Sepoy rebellion to go through in Cawnpore, British East India. I was on the edge of my seat for this one. I'm glad to see some authors are taking us to exotic places. I'm ready to travel and I think a lot of other readers are too! Brava Ms. Sutcliffe.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book!, December 9, 2000

By 

Dawn E Tomasko (Shelton, CT United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Notorious (Paperback)

I've just finished reading Ms. Sutcliffe's Notorious. It's been a long time since I was so completely entranced by a story. Jason and Destiny's love is a tangible thing, I found myself laughing, crying, gasping at the surprising plot twists. The incredibly descriptive scenery is the perfect background for the extraordinary love and passion these two share. England, South Africa, India. Ms. Sutcliffe's incredible talent transports you to these places in spell binding detail. Her use of secondary characters enlivens the story. I loved being on an emotional rollercoaster with Destiny and Jason. My husband is even reading the book, and enjoying it immensely. Congratulations, Katherine!