Sara Bennett, Mistress of Scandal

Mistress of Scandal

Sara Bennett

Avon, Apr 2007,

ISBN: 0060796499

In 1849, whereas her two older sisters have reconciled with their birth mother Madam Aphrodite and found love (see LESSONS IN SEDUCTION and RULES OF PASSION), Francesca Greentree hates what her biological mom does for a living. Instead she prefers to rusticate in Yorkshire where her "adopted" mom Amy Greentree raised her and her siblings rather than spend time in London where she is reminded of her biological mother, a famous courtesan.

Aphrodite asks the "human bloodhound" Sebastian Thorne to find the odious baby snatcher Mrs. Slater and learn from her who was going to pay her to steal her three offspring from her over two decades ago. She also begs him not to tell her darling daughters the truth about his mission. In Yorkshire Hal the blacksmith tricks Sebastian who begins sinking into the bog of the Emerald Mire moor, but Francesca rescues him. As he continues his sleuthing, he knows he is in love from the moment he first saw her; but he has a disgraceful past that leaves him too dishonorable to court his beloved even as he willingly risks his life to keep her safe from someone wanting her dead.

In spite of the chance encounter between the lead protagonists on the moor, the third Aphrodite's children tale is a fabulous Victorian private investigator romantic suspense that ties up the key loose threads especially the who and why of the original abduction. The storyline is fast-paced from the moment that Aphrodite hires Sebastian and never slows down until the final confrontation with a romantic subplot running through the middle. Historical romantic mystery fans will appreciate this pleasingly entertaining series.

Harriet Klausner