This was a good and well written story. The plot was intricate yet not overly complicated. But where was the romance????????????????

I really wanted to like Sebastian and Margaret, and I did. However there really wasn't any romance, chemistry, or tenderness in this story at all.

And the love scenes were so bland and lacking. I was shocked and very disappointed. What has happened to Johanna Lindsey????

I gave the story three stars because it was very well written mystery....

This was the JL book I had ever read and I was not dissapointed. Needless to say, I picked it up and started reading it and then could not put it down until I was at the last page. I admit, I was a bit unsure at first at reading the summary and opening to a few random pages that didn't seem to catch my interest, but I'm a firm believer that you are never to judge a book by its cover (nor a bad review!) because if its been printed and in your hand, you owe it justice to read it to find out for yourself. I love books, its a passion of mine so its no surprise that I thought the book was delicious, as I honestly can say I have never read a 'bad' book.

Now, it does take a few chapters to get into an interesting bit, the beginning is a bit bland to use a word. But once the romance starts to kindle, you won't be able to put it down until you know what happens next.

Let's be honest, we don't read these books because of how they end, we KNOW how they are going to end. The guy always gets his girl and there is always some struggle before that, but its the HOW that makes the books worth reading, we all want that romance for ourselves and we want diversity in how romance can be.

I thought it was pretty good. I wont read it again, making this a non keeper. But it was very entertaining. I loved Sebastian, I would have liked to have read more on his Raven experiences. They sounded fascinating, and the boy he adopts along the way... could have been in the story more too. I would love to have read a bit of history on the trio that made The Raven.
Margaret was fine as a love match, but a bit stuffy and not as exciting as she could have been. I might be a bit gory, but I was hoping for more things to go wrong, for more mystery.
All in all, it was a fine book. I wish you could borrow mine. I would love to lend it to you. This is one book you wont have to give back, I wont be reading it again. But I am glad I did read it.

After reading the prologue I was worried about this novel. I expected it to be no better (but certainly not worse) than the recent fare Lindsey has given us.

Fortunately, the rest of the book was delightful. Sure, it has problems with anachronism (no, a lady wouldn't be allowed to galavant across Europe on her own) and plot (yes, they do fall into bed rather swiftly) but honestly, what romance doesn't?

That's not to say that this is Lindsey's finest work, but it did instill a great deal of hope in this reader that she is getting back to form. Perhaps it's her move to Pocket from Avon - whatever the cause, I applaud her and encourage her to keep it up! She's getting closer to the former glory of her novels, where you fell in love with both the hero and heroine equally.

Sebastian is an example of her classic dark, brooding hero with Margaret playing the spunky foil. They aren't drawn as well as some of her previous characters, but they are compelling and the reader comes to like them both.

She seems to hit her stride with this novel roughly halfway through. The ending is a bit rushed, but nothing we haven't seen before. The plot is well developed and convuluted enough to keep you interested.

Out of Lindsey's most recent works, this is the one I can best recommend. It gives me hope that her follow-up novel, a Mallory, will be even better and bring us back into the fold of that beloved family with the wit and style we know she's capable of.

I loved this book. I classify myself as a Historical Romance junky. I picked this book up and couldn't put it down. I hope that others will read the reviews above and decide to take their own shot at reading it. I loved Sebastion and thought that Maggie had just enough spunk to be believable. My favorite part though was the mystery. She really got me there. I usually figure it out toward the beginning of the book, but with this one, my husband asked me what happened when I went wow!
Thanks for keeping me reading Ms. Lindsay.