LORD OF LIES

Opposites attract in this fast-paced story.

Portia Chadwick is a salty, adventurous debutante on the hunt for a good mystery; Dell Turner is the cool-tempered undercover detective known as Nightshade. When Portia hires Dell to rescue her older sister, Lily, who's been kidnapped, it’s obvious that Dell is attracted to his employer—so much that it threatens his poise and his disguise expertise. This combination of personalities, along with the suggestion that Lily’s kidnapping may not be all that it appears, makes Sandas’ (The Untouchable Earl, 2016, etc.) novel a genuine page-turner. Portia is not willing to give up the thrill of the hunt once she's had a taste of it, and she and Dell soon have more work on their hands when it's revealed that a local prostitute's daughter is missing—and may have been sold into child labor for fast cash; like Dell, many characters in this novel are not what they appear, and neither are the stories they first tell. Most titillating is the punchy dialogue between Dell and Portia; during an attempt to kiss Dell, Portia remarks: “Just a kiss. It’s nothing really.” While this blasé and cheeky attitude toward all things romance seems absolutely modern, that’s the element that makes this historical romance so emotionally authentic; that is, the time period is not an easy fallback through which to create tension, sexual or otherwise. Smart and sexy, the suspense built up as a result of Portia and Dell's steamy chemistry is just as enticing as their detective work. Finally, after a mounting number of questions, the novel wraps up and will satisfy even the most expert sleuth.

A beautifully written romance that's full of adventure—electric and absorbing.