The Rake's Revenge

I really enjoyed this novel - it was a nice mix of romance and mystery. Rob hates Madame Zoe because she is the reason his wife is dead. What he doesn't knowis the Madame Zoe is dead (Murdered) and Afton Lovejoy her neice is pretending to be her to find her aunt's killer. Of course Rob and Afton fight, love and in the end solve a murder. I loved this book - found myself waking early on Saturday morning to finish it... Enjoy!

A different sort of hero, Lord Robert McHugh has just returned from a year of imprisonment and terrible torture in Algiers, seeking revenge against the fortune teller he holds responsible for the deaths of his wife and son. He finds himself drawn to our heroine, Afton Lovejoy, a quiet but adventurous 25-yr-old who is sacrificing her own chances at happiness for the sake of her younger sister, who is making her society debut on the marriage market. When McHugh's investigations uncover the fact that his lovely Afton is actually the fortune teller, he feels betrayed and distraught, but he can't fight his growing love and lust for her. In fact, his lust is untameable - every time he sees her, he attempts to bed her, and is constantly warning her that he has no control over himself - and he's not joking! The story also is a murder mystery; although the culprit's identity is obvious to the reader, the wrap-up is nicely done. The ending, where the hero reveals his love and proposes, is out of character for McHugh - just way too sappy. That's my only real complaint with the book. There are two sex scenes, fairly detailed. This book has a sequel - The Missing Heir - that tells the story of Afton's young widowed aunt Grace.