Nicole Jordan, Lord of Seduction

Lord of Seduction

Nicole Jordan

Ballantine, Dec 2004, $6.99 400 pp.

ISBN: 034546785X

In 1815, the Ton enjoys betting on the ongoing "contest" between Viscount Thorne and his father. Dad, the duke, wants his son married to the heir; so the Duke of Redcliff consistently buys off his son's lovers and tosses eligible women in his path. Christopher finds his sire's actions amusing, but frustrating as he is not ready to wed anyone, especially since he has become a member of the Guardians of the Sword sworn to stamp out evil and tyranny.

Someone murders fellow Guardian Nate Lunsford, who named Chris as his sister's guardian. Chris is on the Isle of Cyrene, when artist Diana Sheridan arrives with Nate's sister Amy in hand. Diana is worried that a fortune hunter has captured Amy's affection and thinks only her guardian can keep disaster from happening. Chris agrees to return to London, but insists that Diana, a victim of scandal several years ago, pretend to be his fianc e. That would keep dad in check, enable him to guide Amy, and uncover the identity of the killer. He never anticipated that he wants to marry Diana as Chris has fallen in love while she tries to elude this master of temptation.

The second "Guardian" tale ("Paradise" as Ballantine calls the miniseries seems off) is an engaging Regency romantic suspense that hooks readers from the moment that Nate is murdered until the final two confrontations (with the killer and between the lead duet). The storyline moves fast, but also insures key secondary cast members seem genuine especially Amy and the Duke. Though the killer seems too odd of a twist, sub-genre fans will feel that Nicole Jordan has entertained them again.

Harriet Klausner