cover image Miss Quinn’s Quandary

Miss Quinn’s Quandary

Shirley Marks, . . Avalon, $21.95 (265pp) ISBN 978-0-8034-9876-1

This charming if uneven Edwardian from Marks (Geek to Chic) opens as Miss Larissa Quinn completes her education and journeys to Westmoreland estate to become the companion to an aunt she doesn’t know. She resolves, however, to have one adventure before resigning herself to her fate. On arriving at an inn, Larissa, spys a handsome gentleman, and claims that the two are newlyweds in order to secure the last remaining room. Once settled, it takes a little convincing to get the man, Sir Randall Trent, to go on with the charade. After a chaste night, the two board the coach assuming that no one will be the wiser and that they will never meet again. But Larissa’s very undoddering aunt eschews dull country life for the London season, and when Larissa and Sir Randall inevitably meet, their “marriage” slips out of their control—leading to unpleasant and possibly deadly consequences. The lovers don’t quite come into focus and often seem not to know whether to fight or kiss, but the inventive plot carries them along with sweet abandon. (Feb.)