From Publishers Weekly
D'Alessandro adds another engaging, well-wrought adventure to her Regency-era Jamison family saga (Whirlwind Wedding, etc.). Still wearing her mourning clothes after three years because her efforts to repay the victims of her late husband's schemes have left her penniless, American Allie Brown arrives in England to visit her best friend and return a mysterious ring. En route, however, she begins to suspect that someone may be trying to harm her. Lord Robert Jamison has a sketch of the laughing lady he's to escort to his sister-in-law's home, but the solemn-eyed woman who steps off the ship hardly matches her portrait. Robert's quest to coax her into smiling, an attempted abduction and a pair of burglaries rattle Allie to the core, though in very different ways. Allie is determined to keep her heart safe from another charming man with secrets, but when she impetuously decides to begin an affair with Robert, their physical attraction inevitably gives way to love. A few too many coincidences undercut the suspense, but D'Alessandro's prose and plotting is surefooted. With its sympathetic protagonists and generous applications of humor, this witty escapade will give those searching for another excellent Regency author plenty of reasons to believe they've found her.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the
Mass Market Paperback
edition.
After her husband is killed in a duel, Alberta "Allie" Brown discovers that not only was he unfaithful, he was also a common criminal. Selling everything to repay those her husband cheated, Allie is left with one last task: find the owner of a signet ring stolen by the deceitful cad. Learning that the ring is British in origin, Allie leaves America for England intent on visiting her old friend, Elizabeth, and restoring the ring to its rightful owner. But along the way Allie is plagued by strange "accidents." In London she meets Elizabeth's brother-in-law, Robert Jamieson, whose romantic interests are immediately captured by the quietly beautiful American widow. Discovering that she is in danger, Robert promptly sets out to protect her, and to convince her to become his wife. D'Alessandro expertly matches up her superbly nuanced characters, including a heroine whose best friend found romance in
Whirlwind Wedding (2000), with delightfully witty writing and a plot deftly laced with danger to create a deliciously sensual literary treat.
John CharlesCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
--This text refers to the
Mass Market Paperback
edition.