Naomi Bellis, Step into Darkness

Step into Darkness

Naomi Bellis

Signet, Sep 2006, $6.99

ISBN: 0451219384

In 1793 in London a desperate Lady Sarah Leaford will do anything to save her father from Madam Guillotine in Paris. Her despair sends her to beg criminal Gentleman Jack, but he rejects her supplication. She turns elsewhere refusing to give up; this time offering to marry an influential diplomat and family friend Lord Stephen Layton, whom she does not love.

Jack's conscience Gabriel lectures him not to blow an opportunity to correct an injustice by helping Sarah's father though both know their boss the Master will be outraged of he leaves England. Still it galls Jack to agree to do so because years ago he was falsely accused of murdering Sarah's paternal grandfather. Her father Lord Carliegh wanted him hung; Jack barely escaped Newgate and now as a felon he has turned into a skilled criminal. His larcenous activities disguise Jack's real undercover assignment and his personal quest for justice by uncovering the identity of who set him up though he believes Lord Layton is the culprit. He informs Sarah that he changed his mind, but soon finds her as his beloved partner who he wants by his side long after they free her father, assuming they succeed.

Step Into Darkness is an action-packed Georgian espionage romantic intrigue that takes off from the moment Layton and Jack see one another for the first time in years with Sarah as witness to their encounter and never slows down until the final resolution of their triangle. The fast paced storyline moves out once Jack undertakes the mission that he know will anger his enigmatic employer and put him back at odds with Layton, who he wants to kill anyway. With a touch of magic that seems off kilter though adding fun to the relationship between the half French witch and the Gentleman thief, fans will enjoy this enchanting historical.

Harriet Klausner