Saturday, August 16, 2008

The Dangerous Duke-Christine Wells

The Dangerous Duke
Christine Wells
Berkley, Sep 2008, $6.99
ISBN: 9780425223260

In 1817 the fires devastated the Duke of Lyle family killing almost all of them and leading to Maxwell Brooke inheriting the title he never expected. He vows to find the arsonists who murdered his family.

Clues lead him to Reverend Stephen Holt, who knows the identities of the arsonists, but refuses to reveal them; he locks Holt up and decides to use the man’s sister widow Lady Kate Fairchild as bait to make him talk; that is after he learns why a stalker is in her garden. As a reaction to her loveless marriage, Kate kept a fantasy diary that highlighted her desires. Max assumes it contains scandalous information that will damage reputations so he steals it. When he reads it, he vows to pleasure Kate in every way she vividly described. However, an unknown adversary tries to harm Kate leading to a desperate Max kidnapping her to keep her safe and for him to show her reality beats fantasy when love is involved.

This is an exciting Regency romantic suspense as Maxwell has two mysteries to solve; that of who killed his family and why someone stalks the hostage he loves. The story line is action-packed yet filled with passionate romance as neither Max nor Kate welcome love. The dual detecting mysteries are entertaining and enhance a fine tale starring THE DANGEROUS DUKE and courageous Kate.

Harriet Klausner

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