Dangerous Book

From a magnificent ballroom ablaze with lights to an imposing country house steeped in shadows comes a breathtaking tale of an impetuous miss—and a passion that leads to peril...

At five and twenty, Prudence Merryweather knew very well tht risks a woman took by visiting a gentleman in the dead of night. But bearding the notorious Earl of Angelstone in his den was the only way to stop him from engaging her hot-headed brother in a duel. And that was why she found herself ushered into Sebastian's frobidding presence at three int the morning—and thoroughly kissed before dawn.

She was a country-bred innocent—and an intriguing experience for a man who dwelt more in the shadows than in the sunshine. Yet as her boldness drew Prue into one dangerous episode after another, Sebastian found himself torn between a raging hunger to possess her and a driving need to protect her. And the reckless beauty would soon need all the protection she could get...

Publishers Weekly

Quick's latest work, a flimsy and fairly routine piece, lacks the panache that made her earlier Regencies interesting. Prudence Merryweather and Sebastian Fleetwood, the ``legendary'' Earl of Angelstone, hit it off after meeting at a ball because they share an element of ``intellectual curiosity'': she hunts ``spectral phenomena,'' and he (courtesy of a Bow Street Runner who slips him intriguing cases) hunts criminals. When, at another party, Prue and Sebastian are caught pussyfooting in the hostess's bedroom, an impromptu engagement results, giving them ample opportunity to poke into each other's investigations. Sebastian, whose parents were ill-treated by the family, has wanted revenge on his kin for years; when his aunt publicly insults Prue, he is ready to exploit his role as head of the family and get them booted out of society. However, Prue's moderating influence persuades him to set aside revenge and act as a benevolent patriarch, a scenario that may sound familiar to readers of Wildest Hearts, this author's most recent contemporary romance (written as Jayne Ann Krentz). (May)