Every Bit a Rogue

Love hides in plain sight in Basso’s delightful fourth Ellingham Regency (after A Little Bit Sinful). Artistically minded Emma Ellingham, younger sister to the heroines of the previous novels, attends what was supposed to be the wedding of Viscount Jon Burwell, whose fiancée abandons him at the altar. Emma can sympathize: the object of her girlhood infatuation rejected her as well. One year later, Emma stumbles on the reclusive viscount tinkering in his workshop, which neighbors her brother-in-law’s estate. A storm traps the pair in the workshop overnight, an innocent sleepover that would cause a scandal were it to get out. But when Jon’s ex-fiancée’s new husband turns up murdered the next morning, Emma must come forward to provide Jon’s alibi. To save Emma’s reputation from ruin, the two wed and vow to make the marriage a “true union” despite both fearing their spouse yearns for a previous lover. Though readers will be disappointed the murder mystery goes unresolved, the honorable protagonists’ chemistry and gradual growth toward emotional maturity is deeply satisfying. This rousing romance will enchant series fans and win over new readers. Agent: Pam Hopkins, Hopkins Literary. (Mar.)