With This Kiss

Morgan St. James fears he will die unmarried and without an heir, after his days as a rake are cut short by the arsonist's fire that marred his good looks. Julia Prentisse, a precocious redheaded beauty, thinks he is the answer to her prayers, offering an escape from her uncle's oppressive household and the chance to shape her own destiny. When Julia proposes a marriage of convenience--and a quest to uncover Lazarus, the mysterious arsonist--Morgan accepts. Together they search London society, both high and low, to uncover the criminal's real identity, exploiting Julia's reputation as a zealous social reformer. Lazarus, it seems, believes her to be an ally in his campaign to cleanse the city of sin. The plot gains momentum when Morgan and Julia set an unsuccessful trap for Lazarus and the tables turn on them. As their backgrounds are developed, the deepening affection between the two becomes charming and believable. Although Lynne's (What Wild Moonlight) secondary characters tend to be one-dimensional, the unexpected twists in her newest historical entertain and satisfy. (July)