Quick’s appealing new direction somehow balances Gothic intensity and lighthearted wit.
A Victorian matchmaker becomes the target of a macabre stalker and turns to a reclusive mystery writer for help—and when the danger escalates, so does their relationship.
After inheriting a grand home but little income, Calista Langley launches her own introductions business, offering clients “an opportunity to meet like-minded people and perhaps develop friendships.” When popular mystery author Trent Hastings confronts her, worried that she’s taking advantage of his sister, the two get off to a rocky start, but Calista holds her own, and he finds himself attracted to the innovative business owner. When they meet again, he learns she's been receiving creepy presents from an unknown giver—memento mori items suitable for people in deepest mourning but containing her initials—and volunteers to help her get to the bottom of the disconcerting pranks. Except as they delve into the puzzle, they realize the sender has left a trail of previous recipients, each of whom has wound up dead. The stakes get higher as their investigation suggests Calista is in the sights of a serial killer, with signs pointing to an ex-suitor. Finding proof is elusive, however, while the physical dangers escalate and potential witnesses keep winding up murdered. Meanwhile, Calista and Trent, two bruised souls who expected to live solitary lives, find affinity and passion in each other, and as they open up to hope and love, other familial and friendship bonds are tightened. The couple’s chance for happiness seems quite good, if they can wrap up the mystery before it kills them. Romantic suspense luminary Quick (aka Jayne Ann Krentz) moves into edgy thriller territory with intelligence and aplomb and uses the backdrop of gaslight-tinted, death-obsessed Victorian London to perfection. The plot is smart and tight and the characters complex, while the subtle wink of humor toward a successful mystery author’s plight and romance subplots will make fans smile.
Quick’s appealing new direction somehow balances Gothic intensity and lighthearted wit.Pub Date: April 19, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-17446-9
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2016
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an...
True love flares between two people, but they find that circumstances always impede it.
On a winter day in London, Laurie spots Jack from her bus home and he sparks a feeling in her so deep that she spends the next year searching for him. Her roommate and best friend, Sarah, is the perfect wing-woman but ultimately—and unknowingly—ends the search by finding Jack and falling for him herself. Laurie’s hasty decision not to tell Sarah is the second painful missed opportunity (after not getting off the bus), but Sarah’s happiness is so important to Laurie that she dedicates ample energy into retraining her heart not to love Jack. Laurie is misguided, but her effort and loyalty spring from a true heart, and she considers her project mostly successful. Perhaps she would have total success, but the fact of the matter is that Jack feels the same deep connection to Laurie. His reasons for not acting on them are less admirable: He likes Sarah and she’s the total package; why would he give that up just because every time he and Laurie have enough time together (and just enough alcohol) they nearly fall into each other’s arms? Laurie finally begins to move on, creating a mostly satisfying life for herself, whereas Jack’s inability to be genuine tortures him and turns him into an ever bigger jerk. Patriarchy—it hurts men, too! There’s no question where the book is going, but the pacing is just right, the tone warm, and the characters sympathetic, even when making dumb decisions.
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an emotional, satisfying read.Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-57468-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
To her usual mix of love, mystery, and passion, Roberts (Sanctuary, 1997, etc.)—author of 115 romancers in some 17 years—adds Renaissance art and a decidedly Medici-like family: the Joneses of Maine. Dr. Miranda Jones, nearly six feet with flaming red hair and a glacial reserve, is an archeometrist who specializes in the analyzing and dating of Renaissance bronze sculpture. Miranda hopes to secure a world-class reputation for herself by authenticating a 15th-century statue of the Dark Lady, one of the mistresses of Lorenzo the Magnificent, as the undiscovered work of a young Michelangelo. Miranda's mother, Dr. Elizabeth Standford-Jones, the emotionally remote director of the Standjo art lab in Florence, has summoned her daughter from the family's Victorian cliffside home in Jones Point, Maine, to test the statue. Meanwhile, Miranda's father, equally remote, is an archaeologist who spends more time at his digs than at home. In fact, no one in the Jones family has made a successful run at marriage, a failure that Miranda and her alcoholic brother Andrew call the Jones curse. As for the statue, when it's discovered to be a fake, Miranda sets out to prove that someone stole the original. In this she's helped by gorgeous art thief Ryan Boldari (half-Italian, half-Irish), who's come to Jones Point to steal yet another bronze, which also turns out to be a forgery. Ryan's plan had been to use Miranda as a pawn, but now, naturally, he finds himself falling hard for her. While the two search for bronzes, a standard-issue romance-novel psychotic is stalking them. Most readers will twig to the killer's identity: Here, as always, Roberts's sexual tension is more compelling than her suspense. Perhaps it's time to take a sabbatical from the pink sweatshop and turn her considerable wit and narrative skills to a more original piece of work.
Pub Date: March 23, 1998
ISBN: 0-399-14387-4
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1998
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
