Rogue of Falconhurst

I found this book, Rogue of Falconhurst, to be as good as the others but still lacking in many ways. First of all, Hammond Maxwell seems to have returned from Texas to help his father run the plantation. However, in a sequel, Scandal of Falconhurst, he doesn't return home until Ellen, his favorite bed wench, has given birth to another man's child. In Rogue, however, Ellen isn't even mentioned. Ham has taken up with a slave girl named Dite who is only mentioned twice. I am also appalled at Hammond's violence against slaves, also his blood-thirsty search for what we believe is a doomed Tommy Verder (Calico), a black man passing for white who was once his best friend, who has committed the unpardonable sin of sleeping with a white woman. The old Hammond would've felt pain and sorrow at Tommy's desperation and deception, but the new Hammond is ready to hang him from the highest tree. There is also the addition of two slaves traders, Brownlee and Hawley, who have some exciting adventures. All of the other main characters appear in the book, including Warren Maxwell, Hammond's father. The story is exciting. The sex is as hot and passionate as ever, but what the reader misses is seeing Hammond Maxwell as human as he appeared in the other books. Although I haven't read the entire series, I liked him better as a man who, despite being a slave trader, was somewhat more human than we expected. He hated violence as much as he loved Ellen. In Rogue of Falconhurt, he neither avoids violence or has Ellen (or any other woman) by his side. This is amazing and disappointing, but I will still continue reading. I hope this helps.

This book captivated me! Its many characters, locations, and emotions swept me away into an era of mint juleps, magnolias blooming, and the unspeakable tension in the air of the South. It plays human emotion like a grand piano. In this book, friendship is based on what you don't know about other people. Love is not an emotion but an arrangement between persons of indifferent character. This book is for anyone interested in the smoldering taboos of the old South. A good read!