Wicked Widow (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: dream merchant, sleeping herbs, Short John, Renwick Deveridge, Dream Pavilions (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Setting: London, Regency period
Sensuality Rating: 7

Award-winning author Amanda Quick weaves a tale of a man and a woman who understand just what it means to be haunted. Artemis Hunt, the mysterious master of a secret society, has been obsessed by the knowledge that he was unable to protect his mistress from a brutal death, and has spent the last five years plotting her revenge. Madeline Reed Deveridge, known as the infamous Wicked Widow by polite society, is rumored to have murdered her husband. But now Madeline is afraid that her dead spouse has returned from beyond the grave to terrorize her. In fear for her life and that of her beloved aunt, Madeline blackmails Artemis into aiding her by threatening to expose his ownership of the Dream Pavilions, London's premier pleasure garden--an association, if revealed, that would destroy his reputation and put his long-held plans of vengeance at serious risk. The two are drawn together at first by necessity, but Artemis soon finds himself intrigued then intoxicated by the confident woman known as the Wicked Widow. Madeline, who is inclined to distrust men after her disastrous marriage, falls prey to the unfamiliar feelings Artemis inspires in her. Their burgeoning passion may save them each from an empty future--if their secrets don't kill them first. Another Quick masterpiece! --Alison Trinkle

From Publishers Weekly

Odd's teeth! Is this the same pen that gave readers the delicious Mischief, among many other entertainments? The multifaceted Jayne Ann Krentz's pseudonym for her Regency romances, Amanda Quick has been a reliable label, guaranteeing witty dialogue between strong-willed lovers and offering genuine suspense laced with erotic thrills. Alas, the present offering falls short. Virgin widow Madeline Reed Deveridge is maddeningly befuddled about men. Dubbed the Wicked Widow ever since she was obliged to shoot her husband, scoundrel Renwick Deveridge, in self-defense, she now seems to be haunted by Renwick's ghost. Worse, she requires an eternity to realize she loves (and is loved by) Artemis Hunt, whose help she enlists when her maid is kidnapped from the Dream Pavilions, London pleasure gardens secretly owned by Hunt. Artemis is gruff and bossy, rather than exquisitely arrogant in the traditional model, and he commands little sympathy in an obsessive plot to avenge the death of his actress love, Catherine Jensen, five years before the main story takes place. Much space is devoted to the Vanzagarian Society, an arcane cult of which Artemis is a master--Madeline's father belonged to the society too, and Renwick tried to turn it to his evil purposes--but we never know its particularities or feel its power. Sex scenes are perfunctory. The occasional flashes of vivid writing, as in the descriptions of fog-bound pursuits through London's seamier neighborhoods, provoke nostalgia for Quick at her best. (Apr.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Bantam; First Edition edition (April 4, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553100874
• ISBN-13: 978-0553100877
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (98 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #805,823 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 2 in The Vanza Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Might be time for a sabbatical, April 18, 2000

By	Fool For Love (Eureka, CA) - See all my reviews

The book contained many elements previous visited by the author. The only thing wrong with this is that her fans know for a fact that the author has the potential to do a much better job with all of them than she has in her recent works.

Heroine has undeserved reputation: This was fairly well developed in Zinnia (Jayne Castle), but I never felt like the 'the wicked widow' suffered from her reputation, juicy as it was.

Hero plots long and complicated revenge: In this book I felt like the revenge was too long in coming, yet not very complicated. Surely it didn't take him 5 years to come up with a phony-investment con job? Not to mention the way he loses interest before following through. It disturbed me to find him calmly interviewing one of his dead lover's rapists because his new lover's problems have become his priority.

Heroine has prejudices that cause relationship conflict: While the heroine plays lip service to not trusting Vanza types, I never felt like this was truly a barrier between her and the hero. This was much better done in the Gift of Gold/Fire books (Jayne Ann Krentz), and much more humerously done in Zinnia.

I can only assume that the author's getting tired of the same ol' thing. I hope the she finds material that she can be passsionate about again.

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not quite classic Quick, April 28, 2000

By A Customer

This latest Quick novel is heavier on intrigue/plot. I was pulled along by the uncertainty of the real identity of the villain, but like other readers, I had seen this plot in action before.

The intrigue plot forms the backbone of this book more than other Quick books. The heroine's dead husband's ghost is supposedly haunting her, she seeks help from the hero for this and other issues. The hero is pursuing a vengeance of his own. Most of the book is spent on one of these two aspects.

The romance aspect of Wicked Widow was curiously played down, I'm not sure why. Their relationship was beleivable, but lacked the 'one true love' feeling I expect from a romance novel. They seemed to be two nice people with awful pasts who make a nice relationship.

The Vanza aspect will probably turn off some people. I found it less annoying in this book than in I Thee Wed, but certainly not as well done as in Deep Waters (writing as Jayne Ann Krentz). In Deep Waters, the psuedo-martial art formed a major part of the hero's character-it gave him an identity and workable approach to life. Although the hero in Wicked Widow is a master of Vanza, and the heroine studied it under her father (and strangly associates every Vanza practicioner with her insane dead husband instead of with her beloved, deceased father), the philosophy seems more a plot devce than a character philosophy.

That said, this Quick book was much better written in my opinion, than the past several. It was beleivable for the most part (except the demises of the hero's revenge plot, which was dropped rather abruptly) and I found myself caught up, wanting to know what happened next.

Also, Quick has supplied some fun secondary characters-she's excellent at them. These characters are as good and fun as early, classic Quick. The new plot had enough twists to it that I still wasn't sure how it would turn out, and the dialogue was snappy.

I wish she would consider trying out a new angle though. I wasn't as frustrated with this book ( I was with her last couple). Wicked Widow provided me with a comfortable and enjoyable couple of hours. I hope she makes some changes though, especially with her character types (maybe the hero could be quirky, spunky, and fun and the heroine could be stoically bent on revenge and honor). It's not that I don't like them so much-it's that she seems bored with them.

I recommend this book to those who enjoy comfortable reads. There are no surprises here, but instead a steady (if not spectacular) enjoyment.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Could the old Amanda Quick please come back?, May 4, 2000

By	"elaine51" (Laguna Niguel,CA) - See all my reviews

Having been an Amanda Quick fan from the beginning(Seduction is a wonderful book) I am saddened by the deterioration reflected in her last 4-5 books. Her earlier books were characterized by intricate plots and layers of character development. Her heroes and heroines had depth and in fact were people you wanted to invite for dinner. I stopped buying them( I get them from the library) several books ago. Having just read the Wicked Widow, I am now going to stop reading them.PS, is it my imagination or have all successful paperback authors undergone similar transformations as they move to hardback? Elizabeth Lowell is also quickly degenerating as well,