Silk and Secrets

Set in the Near East of the Great Game, this sequel to Putney's Silk and Shadows switches focus from Mikhal Khanauri and Sara St. James to the adventures of Sara's cousin Lord Ross Carlisle. Carlisle, now Marquess of Kilburn and heir to the duchy of Windermere, is headed for Bokhara (currently Uzbekistan) for word of the missing Ian Cameron, brother of Ross's young wife who ran away 12 years earlier. En route he is rescued from maurauding Turkomans by his long-lost bride, Juliet, rather improbably dressed as a Saharan Tuareg and the accepted leader of a small Persian fortress. The two embark for Bokhara together, fighting the desert, hostile factions and each other. Putney works hard to get her facts straight, perhaps a bit too hard: considering Ross and Juliet's long acquaintance with Islam, Juliet's observation--``Since alcohol is forbidden to Muslims, there is no problem with the servents drinking''--seems redundant. Yet Juliet is a spunky, happily flawed heroine and nice counterpoint to the godlike Ross. (July)