Gaelen Foley, One Night of Sin

One Night of Sin

Gaelen Foley

In 1817 London half Russian half English Earl Prince Kurkov sends four of his best Cossack soldiers to capture his cousin Rebecca Ward before she can reach her late grandfather's friend and political adversary the Duke of Westland. Becky watched Kurkov kill in cold blood, has learned about his anti-Tsar plot, and knows he plans to use and abuse her.

After four days of little to eat and no rest, Becky reaches London with the Cossacks closing in on her. A storm sends her seeking shelter under the portico of Lord Draxinger's home where she falls asleep. Drax and three friends, Rush, Fort, and Alec Knight arrive for a night of cards when they see her and assumes she is a whore. Rush tries for a kiss but takes a knee in the family jewels; Drax follows but receives an elbow knocking out a tooth. Becky flees, but Alec pursues her. He persuades her to come to his home where they make love. The next morning she leaves and he realizes she was a virgin. He follows her and soon kills two Cossacks attacking her. As they struggle to stay alive and raise the alarm about the anti-Tsar plot, they fall in love.

ONE NIGHT OF SIN is a tense romantic suspense thriller that brings to life an interesting historical footnote, England's adulation of Tsarist Russia following the Napoleonic Wars. The characters make for a fine story line with the lead couple's inability to compete with Kurkov's charm to sell himself to Westland (and his daughter). Fans will enjoy this fine Regency that would be folly not to read.

Harriet Klausner