Geralyn Dawson, Her Scoundrel

Her Scoundrel

Geralyn Dawson

HQN, Dec 2005, $6.99, 384 pp.

ISBN: 0373770723

In 1880 in the Himalayas, Jake and Daniel Kimball search for the legendary Shambhala when Daniel becomes ill, but informs his worried brother that he heard the sacred call. Jake dreams that Daniel entered Shambhala, but before doing so tells his sibling to find the necklace and his family. Jake awakens to the realization that his brother has stepped over to the earthly paradise for the pure of heart leaving him alone in the frozen mountainside.

In 1891 adventurer Jake is at Galveston Island, Texas when pregnant "Menace" Kat McBride Callahan calls him a thief. Kat demands he give to her the Sacred Heart Altar Cross, but he says he bought it not stole it from her late spouse Rory Callahan. She offers to buy the Cross, but he refuses. Instead he offers to trade it for her necklace, which reminds him of his Himalayan dream. He thinks he found his "family' in Texas as he believes this woman about to give birth to someone else's child is his beautiful beloved, but to convince the Menace he loves her and her baby is going to prove quite an adventure.

The second Menace tale (see HER BODYGUARD) contains fresh fantasy elements that enhance this wonderful western romance. Though not wanting to believe in luck, Jake recognizes the necklace worn by Kat and cannot resist following her to Fort Worth to learn more about her family heirloom and her. He soon feels lucky in love, but to persuade his Kat that they, her daughter and his niece belong together seems impossible as his Menace refuses to trust in love. Readers will enjoy this tale and the teaser involving the final Menace in Scotland wanted for murder.

Harriet Klausner