Donna Lea Simpson Awaiting the Moon

Awaiting the Moon

Donna Lea Simpson

Berkley, Feb 2006, $6.99, 368 pp.

ISBN: 0425208494

In 1795

Englishwoman lady Elizabeth Stanwycke journeys to Wolfram Castle in Germany to become a tutor to Charlotte, niece to Count Nikolas von Wolfram, as she has nothing else. Near the estate she notices a man chasing a woman in the woods, but her escort, Katrina Leibren, insists they not stop, and tells her to forget what she saw.

At the castle, she meets her new employer, his two sisters, and an uncle as well as the visiting Count Delacroix. Elizabeth soon finds herself wondering what is going on, as she hears strange noises and witnesses eerie events. The weirdest is her growing feeling for Nikolas, who at times is coldly aloof, while on other occasions is passionate, as if he feels the heat between them. Still unable to resist the mystery of the occupants of Wolfram Castle, and especially the wolf-like howling just outside, Elizabeth begins to investigate, not realizing how dangerous that is to her well being, including her heart.

AWAITING THE MOON is a fast-paced historical romantic suspense that will keep the audience wondering whether the sub-genre is Gothic or supernatural. The key element to Donna Lea Simpson's clever prose is whether a werewolf is running loose in Germany, and if so, is that creature Nikolas? Elizabeth, as she falls in love with her employer, ponders which is worse; that he is a murderous shape-shifter, or that he is a homicidal lunatic. Fans of either sub-genre will treasure this strong Regency era thriller.