Starred review from April 28, 1997
Gripping, suspenseful first-person narrative from top-ranked Regency historical author Wolf (The Deception) will remind readers why they love the genre. Cool, self-possessed beauty Annabelle Grandville's privileged world is shaken when her first love, Stephen Grandville, returns to Weston, the family estate on the Sussex Downs, as guardian to new earl Giles, his nephew... and her young son. Stephen's five-year Jamaica exile had sent Annabelle into his now-deceased brother's arms. Can their once-passionate love affair be rekindled? Annabelle barely has time to ponder the possibilities before murder attempts are made on Stephen's and Giles's lives. Suddenly, every Grandville family member stands suspect, and Annabelle's no longer sure whom she can trust. Smartly plotted, with funny, believable dialogue and a large, consistently well-drawn cast of characters, this is romance writing at its best.