cover image Come the Night

Come the Night

Christina Skye. Dell Publishing Company, $7.99 (496pp) ISBN 978-0-440-21644-5

First encounters between heroes and heroines should indeed be memorable, but here, Skye (East of Forever) has gone overboard with incredibly purple prose, and cliched, far-fetched names (Black Lord, Diablo, Little One, Beauty, Silver). Thankfully, the purple quickly fades into a darn good story and all is forgiven. Silver St. Clair is captured by the Black Lord, a highwayman who, as luck would have it, is really Lucien Delamere, heir to the richest title in Regency England. His midnight forays are a search for revenge against those who had captured him five years earlier and made his life a living hell. But Silver is the target of less scrupulous bandits because of a much coveted perfume called Millefleurs manufactured by the family business she and her brother recently inherited. The trouble is, the formula was lost when Silver's father was murdered. The appearance of Silver into Luc's life has muddled his cause and takes him way away from his purpose-or so he thinks. A pinch of mystery, a dash of intrigue make for a wonderfully high adventure. (Sept.)