May 3, 1999
Untypically, this Regency features lower-class protagonists: a rough-around-the-edges Bow Street runner and a notorious, unlikable courtesan. Grant Morgan, once a poor orphan, has become rich in the service that was the precursor to London's modern-day police force. (Runners worked both for the Bow Street magistrates and as independent detectives.) When he rebuffs the advances of flame-haired beauty Vivien Duvall, she retaliates by spreading vicious, demeaning rumors. He then finds her half drowned, almost strangled to death and suffering from traumatic amnesia--and he takes revenge by convincing her they're lovers. This way, he can bed her easily while searching for her assailant. But is she really who he thinks she is? The questions of exactly who it is that he has slept with and who hates Vivien Duvall enough to try to kill her are quite intriguing. Kleypas (Then Came You) writes a spirited tale, clearly enjoying her characters, but she may unsettle fans of the genre with her willingness to stray from its conventions. Not only does she present a d class world, but Regency misses don't normally say "Ick!"