Overview
Scandal is afoot and seduction is in the air in this, Amanda Quick's sixteenth and most deliciously entertaining novel. Now the mistress of Regency-period romantic suspense brings us a notorious widow and a man of mystery as they flirt with danger, fight temptation, and fall into the snare of desire and intrigue....
Madeline Deveridge is all too aware of the whispers behind her back, the rumors that she dispatched her husband to the next world and concealed her crime. But Madeline has a far more pressing problem than being called the Wicked Widow. She fears that she and her beloved aunt are being haunted! And all the evidence points to one improbable culprit: the ghost of her late husband. Of course it is impossible, but Madeline cannot take chances. So she dares summon the only person with the power to help her uncover the truth--Artemis Hunt.
Brilliant, relentless, reclusive, Artemis has made it his business to keep much of his private life hidden. No one knows that he's the owner of the Dream Pavilions, London's favorite pleasure gardens, or that he's a master of an arcane society. Curiosity brings him out on a fog-shrouded night to meet the infamous Wicked Widow, but his amusement quickly flees when he realizes that Madeline has learned enough about his affairs to wreak havoc on his carefully ordered existence. He must secure her guarantee never to divulge his secrets to anyone, even if it means helping her track down a phantom.
As soon as the bargain is struck, Artemis and Madeline find their arrangement complicated by a searing desire, and the frightening realization that the ghost poses a very real danger. Now they must plunge into a world of intrigue and ancient mysteries, where a tantalizing passion--and a calculating killer--will not be denied.
About the Author:
Amanda Quick, a pseudonym for Jayne Ann Krentz, is a bestselling, award-winning author of contemporary and historical romances. There are over twenty-five million copies of her books in print, including Seduction, Surrender, Scandal, Rendezvous, Ravished, Reckless, Dangerous, Deception, Desire, Mistress, Mystique, Mischief, Affair, With This Ring, and I Thee Wed. She makes her home in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, Frank.
Synopsis
Madeline Deveridge is aware of the whispers behind her back, the rumors that she dispatched her husband to the next world and concealed her crime. But she has a far more pressing problem than her reputation as the Wicked Widow. It's impossible to believe that her late husband is haunting her and her aunt, but something odd is happening, and Madeline doesn't dare take chances.
Summoning the brilliant, reclusive Artemas Hunt, secret owner of London's favorite pleasure pavilions and master of arcane talents, she blackmails him into providing help. As soon as the bargain is struck, Artemas and Madeline find their arrangement complicated by searing desire, and the frightening recognition that the ghost poses a very real danger. Now they must plunge into a world of intrigue and ancient mysteries, where a calculating killer — and a tantalizing passion — will not be denied.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Wit is Quick's middle name.