Lisa Jackson Temptress

Temptress

Lisa Jackson

Onyx, Oct 2005, $6.99, 336 pp.

ISBN: 0451411552

In 1287 the Christmas Eve fire at Wybren Castle set by Carrick, killed his family while he fled into the night. Two years later, Carrick's betrayed lover Lady Morwenna of Calon dreams of him or in her estimation she suffered a nightmare starring him. Not long afterward, hunters bring a near dead viciously battered stranger to Castle Calon.

Morwenna decides to try to save the unconscious male, until she notices the Wybren crest on his ring. Though she believes her "guest" is her cowardly former lover Carrick, Morwenna reluctantly cares for her patient, and notifies the current Lord of Wybren who her guest is. She detests him for sleeping with her, and deserting her to birth their child out of wedlock, but she refuses to think the womanizer would commit cold blooded murder. Morwenna can not accept how fickle she is, because though he lies near death she wants him, even after what he did to her. As he begins to recover, someone wants him dead and does not mind killing anyone in their way.

The mysteries starting with who the nearly dead soldier is and the who-done-it, make for a fine historical suspense thriller. The romance takes a back seat to the mystery, though Morwenna's doubts about her feelings, and about saving the reprobate's life, bring the relationship between her and Carrick to the forefront of solving who the arsonist was, as she knows her beloved is a rat but not a murdering rodent. The strong cast especially the lead couple, leave fans of Lisa Jackson, with a terrific medieval one sitting thriller