Lorraine Heath, A Matter of Temptation

A Matter of Temptation

Lorraine Heath

Avon, Oct 2005, $5.99, 384 pp.

ISBN: 0060749768

In 1852 London, Robert Hawthorne escapes from Pentonville Prison where his younger twin John sent him for eight years. When Warder Matthews arrives to inform the lord of his sibling's escape Robert hands over the real John to be imprisoned until he can figure out what to do with him.

Robert's plan to ease back into society collapse immediately when he learns he will marry Victoria "Torie" Lambert in the morning. As he tries to bluff what and whom he has known for the last eight years, he falls in love with Torie, but believes she cherishes the charmed John who impersonated him. As much as he wants her, he must not touch her because she belongs to someone else even if that person stole almost a decade of his life.

Victorian romantic suspense fans will be reminded of The Man in the Iron Mask though Lorraine Heath spends more time on Robert's struggles to hide that he replaced his twin who previously replaced him. The story line is character driven as Robert tries to recover from what he lost and falls in love with his wife. Torie realizes that the man she married is so different than the lord who courted her, but cannot fathom why. It is interesting how both twins when they drive pass Pentonville must stop and gaze in horror of what they and readers know of who is there and the shocking prison conditions. Lorraine Heath provides a fabulous rendition of the Dumas' classic.

Harriet Klausner