The Panther and the Pyramid
Bonnie Vanak
Leisure, September 2006, $6.99
ISBN: 0843957557

While the Bedouin invaders held him captive, they also made young Graham Tristan watch as they brutally murdered his parents. He vows one day to avenge what these cruel killers did to his family. Over the years he worked at achieving his goal, until now. He is known as the fiercest warrior of the desert (The Panther), even though he rides with powerful courageous fighters as part of the Warriors of the Wind.

However, the time to return to England has arrived, so he goes home to become the Duke of Caldwell. The dreams he began having in the desert, of meeting a red haired green eyed termagant continue until he meets his vision in the flesh in a brothel. Lady Jillian plans to lose her virginity, so her father cannot sell her to the highest bidder, an odious person. However, as the two virgins make love, passion ignites them to an even higher plane. Already in love with his vixen, Graham demands they marry, which she agrees to, as she returns his feelings. As a married couple they head back to Egypt where treasure or his nightmare youth await them.

The fourth late nineteenth century Egyptian romance is an exciting action-packed thriller starring a fine coupling, as he is more Egyptian than English aristocrat, while she is a daughter of the Ton, making for a delightful pairing, starting with their first sizzling encounter in the brothel and never slowing down. Though Jillian is too typical of the sub-genre, fans of historical adventure romantic epics will want to read this quality tale and its exciting predecessors (see THE FALCON AND THE DOVE, THE TIGER AND THE TOMB, and THE COBRA AND THE CONCUBINE).