Kat Martin, The Devil’s Necklace

The Devil's Necklace

Kat Martin

Mira, Aug 2005, $7.50

ISBN: 0778321991

In 1805, Grace Chastain borrows money from her Aunt Matilda Crenshaw to hire Jack Moody to free her father from Newgate. Although she has never met Viscount Harmon Jeffries, she cannot sit by and allow her sire to hang from the gallows for treason even if he is guilty.

British privateer captain of the Sea Witch Ethan Sharpe stops the Lady Anne at sea. He proclaims passenger Grace Chastain committed sedition having abetted a traitor to escape justice. Ethan abducts her onto his ship where he demands she tell him the whereabouts of her lover Harmon. Because of a promise she made, Grace fails to correct his error. Ethan is irate with himself because he is attracted to Grace, but outraged that she freed the man who sold his previous ship and crew to the French. Most of the men died while he lingered in prison. Since she remains obstinate, he decides to seduce his enemy's lover; he succeeds only to find he made love to a virgin. As they fall in love, he learns she is the daughter of his foe.

Though the Regency audience will empathize with the demons that haunt Ethan and his understandable obsession towards the heroine's father accentuated by falling in love with his enemy's "mistress", Grace's courage whether it is on land or sea makes the tale. She is fabulous, abetting her father who she never met or challenging the sea captain she loves. Though the climax is too neatly and abruptly wrapped up, the sequel to the BRIDE'S NECKLACE, THE DEVIL'S NECKLACE is an intriguing Regency romantic suspense thriller that fans will enjoy and look forward to the jewelry moving on to the next protagonist.

Harriet Klausner