Someone to Watch Over Me (Bow Street, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Lisa Kleypas (Author) "From the moment Grant Morgan saw the woman, he knew that-despite her beauty-she would never be any man's bride..." (more)
Key Phrases: Miss Duvall, Bow Street, Sir Ross (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Grant Morgan is one of London's most eligible and unattainable bachelors. He's also a powerful member of the Bow Street Runners, and when he's called to the waterfront late one night to investigate a drowning victim, Grant is stunned to recognize the face of Vivien Rose Duvall, a well-known woman of the night. He's even more startled when he realizes that she's alive. With no one to care for her, Grant carries Vivien to his home and revives her, only to learn that she is suffering from amnesia.

Vivien hesitantly accepts her handsome rescuer's claim that she is his mistress, despite her misgivings about her true identity. Nevertheless, she can't deny the marks on her throat that prove her near-drowning in the Thames was not an accident, and now she must trust the man who claims her as his paramour, for her life is in danger. As Grant searches for Vivien's attacker, the two find themselves falling in love, all the while struggling to stay one step ahead of the evil forces that will stop at nothing to see Vivien dead.

Kleypas's characters are not your run-of-the-mill Regency fare--Grant lacks a noble lineage while Vivien's "membership" in the demimonde is unusual to say the least--which makes them even more fascinating and thoroughly absorbing. Toss in a puzzling mystery to solve and an intriguing look inside the workings of the famous Bow Street Runners, and you've got a novel well worth reading. No wonder Lisa Kleypas's books are consistent bestsellers--you won't be able to put this one down.--Lois Faye Dyer

From Publishers Weekly
Untypically, this Regency features lower-class protagonists: a rough-around-the-edges Bow Street runner and a notorious, unlikable courtesan. Grant Morgan, once a poor orphan, has become rich in the service that was the precursor to London's modern-day police force. (Runners worked both for the Bow Street magistrates and as independent detectives.) When he rebuffs the advances of flame-haired beauty Vivien Duvall, she retaliates by spreading vicious, demeaning rumors. He then finds her half drowned, almost strangled to death and suffering from traumatic amnesiaAand he takes revenge by convincing her they're lovers. This way, he can bed her easily while searching for her assailant. But is she really who he thinks she is? The questions of exactly who it is that he has slept with and who hates Vivien Duvall enough to try to kill her are quite intriguing. Kleypas (Then Came You) writes a spirited tale, clearly enjoying her characters, but she may unsettle fans of the genre with her willingness to stray from its conventions. Not only does she present a d?class? world, but Regency misses don't normally say "Ick!"
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Avon (May 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380802309
• ISBN-13: 978-0380802302
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (83 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #12,301 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 1 in The Bow Street Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars First of the terrific Bow Street Trilogy but not the best, March 10, 2003

By	baltimore0502 "Hon!" (BALTIMORE, MD USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Grant Morgan is a gruff, jaded but effective Bow Street Runner called to the docks to investigate a body pulled from the Thames. It's a woman who's obviously been violently attacked - strangled and left to drown. But Grant recognizes the woman as infamous demimondaine Vivien Duvall, a woman Grant has no liking for since she started untrue rumours that he was desperate to have her and she refused him. On closer inspection he finds that she's not dead and, on impulse, takes her to his home to recuperate.

When she regains consciousness, it's clear that she's got amnesia. Grant decides to take some petty, childish revenge by using Vivien while she's vulnerable then dumping her. But he does not count on the effects of the amnesia on her. She's so different from the woman he and the rest of Society know. She's sweet, unassuming, kind and he reluctantly finds himself growing more and more attracted to her - and not just sexually. Meanwhile, she is completely incredulous when Grant tells her of the depraved life she leads, but with no memory she has no choice but to believe him. And now she must allow herself to be used as bait to catch the person who so obviously wanted her dead. What a frightening prospect for a woman who has no memory of anyone she meets! Her attempted killer could be anyone!

Though I enjoyed the story, I did feel that the lead characters were a bit one-dimensional and could have been better developed. And Grant's petty anger over a fairly innocuous bit of gossip from a courtesan was a bit irrational. But I did like Grant's gruff protectiveness and felt compassion for her unenviable confusion and fear.

I really enjoyed this trilogy - this was followed by Lady Sophia's Lover and then Worth Any Price. I was fascinated by the workings of Bow Street, the political opposition to it and the power (and the way he did not abuse it) of the yummy, dreamy, sexy Sir Ross Cannon. Recommended.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable, but too predictable..., June 18, 2006

By	CoffeeGurl (MA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

I read and enjoyed two Lisa Kleypas novels before picking up Someone to Watch Over Me. I thought the plot seemed interesting and the fact that the heroine is believed to be a prostitute makes living alone with the hero much more plausible. However, the somewhat predictable course of the story kept me from enjoying this one to the full. More on that later. Grant Morgan is the most successful and respected Bow Street Runner in London. The gentry feel a mixture of fear and disdain for the tall, dark and handsome runner, which is why he gets upset when a notorious courtesan tells everyone she has rejected his advances when it had in fact been the other way around. Grant wants revenge against the ruthless wench, and he has the opportunity to do so when he pulls her out of the waters of the Thames, unconscious and with bruises around her neck, an obvious attempt at her life had been made. He plans to seduce, use and humiliate her and then tire of her, and the fact that she has amnesia won't stop him from doing just that. But Vivien Duvall, in her amnesic state, is nothing like the shameless hussy he had met at the ball. She is now sweet, intelligent and seems genuinely naive. He nevertheless knows what she does for a living and rages in jealousy whenever he thinks about the amount of men she's bedded. Grant is nevertheless falling for this new Vivien, but he cannot let his feelings get the best of him. After all, she will recover her memory and return to her sordid lifestyle... or will she? There are some twists throughout the novel.

The novel is nice and enjoyable and I wasn't bored (much) as I read the book. But, as said earlier, the story is a little too predictable and the things that happen I saw coming from a mile away. The "twist" involving Vivien wasn't at all shocking and I knew who had tried to kill her long before the information was revealed. I have no idea if Kleypas had wanted these to be surprising or not, but even if she hadn't intended to make this unpredictable she could have at least tried to make the story seem a little less... sketched out. One thing I could say in favor is that the storyline of how the hero and heroine come together is more believable this time. There are no gently-bred, albeit commoner unmarried women walking the streets of London alone at night researching gambling clubs (Dreaming of You) or traveling alone in a carriage with a rake late at night after attending a party by herself (Suddenly You). Even though I had enjoyed those novels, I nevertheless had a difficult time accepting the aforementioned things because they simply couldn't have happened in nineteenth century England. The heroine in this book is believed to be a courtesan, and so I didn't have to suspend much disbelief this time around. The only thing that doesn't ring true is Vivien being unsure about marrying Grant after they've been involved. This isn't believable because no woman of that time period would allow herself to remain unmarried and ruined. She'd marry him in a heartbeat, insecurities or no insecurities. Women of that period didn't have the luxury to choose to remain single after bedding a man. Vivien's reasoning sounded more like the relationship angst of a modern-day woman. Should I marry him or stay single? Ludicrous emotional conflict in a Regency. As for the protagonists, Vivien is a little too sweet at times, but I liked her. Grant is gorgeous and alpha male-ish, which is always sexy, though he got on my nerves at times. I give Someone to Watch Over Me three stars because, anachronisms and banality aside, I enjoyed the book. However, this one falls more in the enjoyable-while-you-read-it-but-forgettable-once-you've-finished-it category.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A great author, a good book but....not a surprising story line..., May 18, 2006

By	Bridget "B.A.D.T." (Grand Rapids, Michigan) - See all my reviews

I have been reading Lisa Kleypas books for over a dozen years now - since the early 90's. I discovered her early in my reading of romance novels and always found her books to be a sure hit (less one story so far I didn't like). She is a gifted author and has strong talents in planning detailed plot lines, intricate characters and bringing out heart warming emotions by the end of the story.

"Someone To Watch over Me" was a good book. I wouldn't rate it great and I wouldn't rate it bad. The reason I couldn't give it more stars....I didn't really buy throughout most of the story that "Viven" was who she said she was. It seemed apparent to anyone paying attention that clearly the person everyone THOUGHT was Viven couldn't possibly be. Even though she lost her memory after almost being killed and pulled from the river half dead...she had none of the characteristics that everyone said she had before (was a high priced, well known prostitute, ½ the men in town had slept with her at one time, all the women hated her, she was cold blooded, devious, out for her own good and she was a seriously twisted sex style maniac). Suddenly...Viven looses her memory after the water trauma and acts sweet, tender, kind, naïve, appalled by sex and virgin like. Why it was like she was another person! Because...she was!!! I couldn't buy that all these Bow Street Runners were such great security and detectives in town - often working for the crown - yet...they couldn't do a little research on the real Viven and look at her history, family, where she grew up etc. and find out there was TWO children - twins - and thus, that is why the girls were so vastly different from one another. You mean no one in town or where they grew up talked about this twin issue? If Viven was so well known and notorious throughout the land for her beauty and sexual escapades...wouldn't someone have put two and two together over time? NO...it took Grant sleeping with Viven to find out she is a virgin and this girl was someone else altogether. She was Victoria - the other twin. I was guessing from early on that she was either a sister, twin or even the daughter of a woman who looked like her. It didn't take a lot of guessing and I was unhappy that I figured things out so easily and was so disappointed none of the great detectives in the book could figure it out! Hire me next time, not them!

Although I liked over-all the characters of Grant and Victoria - they seemed a lot like many other characters that Lisa Kleypas has written about in previous books. Our hero has a hard luck history - often from the streets - clawed his way out of a bad past to find a career to prosper, make money, get some power but, he is always alone and on the fringes of high society. In turn, our heroine Victoria is a sweet natured, thoughtful and kind girl on the verge of womanhood who finds herself in a dangerous situation and she puts herself in the hands of the hero for safe keeping. Thus...their attraction and love build. Nice but, nothing new. Nothing fresh. Nothing super interesting. When I look back at some of her earlier works - I see a lot of similarities - Sara and Derek in Dreaming of You - Logan and Madeline in Because You're Mine, Julia & Damon in Somewhere I'll Find You, and so on. Now don't get me wrong...I like these characters she created but, I don't want them to seem so alike in their personalities, backgrounds and attributes. I haven't read these books in years but, I just feel like "I've been there before" when I finished this newest book.

I felt that Victoria forgave Grant a bit early for his revenge plot and deception to her. She was rightly mad at first and wanted some space but, it didn't take long for her to forgive him and take him back for his bad ways. In turn, everyone seemed to go easy on Viven in the end for all the trouble and difficulty she caused with her actions and behavior. These two things could have been played out a bit more for my taste.

I found Sir Ross Cannon - the magistrate and runner friend of Grant's to be a very interesting fellow. He was aloof, cool and powerful but, kind. The loss of his wife and one love seemed to take a big toll on him as a person. I almost wonder if LK has a book out there on his story (maybe the next in the series)? Would make for interesting reading. You don't get to read often about a man's first love - a healthy love - and how difficult it is once they pass on for him to find new hope, joy and beauty in another and put the past behind.

I would like to give four stars but, I just didn't feel it was warranted. Not unique or creative enough to warrant more praise. I am already forgetting parts to this books and I've only been done for a day! That tells me...it was a decent read when I was engrossed in the story but...it fades quickly once done because it simply wasn't that great. The author herself and her history get 5 stars for talent and ability but, this story gets 3 to 3 1/2 at best.

If you have not read LK books yet, do so - they are appealing. With the exception of "Only With Your Love" (which I didn't care for at all - yuck! - see my review there), all her other books won't disappoint. Early ones seem best - Somewhere I'll Find You, Because You're Mine, Dreaming of You, Stranger In My Arms, Then Came You, Only In Your Arms, Midnight Angel and Where Dreams Begin. All winners. I am still reading her newest books of the last 3-4 years as I took off some time and came back again. I still enjoy this author and believe you will too. Happy reading!