Devil in Disguise

Kleypas continues her winning streak with a thoroughly engrossing crossover between her Regency Wallflowers series and Victorian Ravenels novels. Three years after Lady Merritt Sterling’s husband’s death left her in charge of his shipping firm, a costly accident brings the bold, magnetic businesswoman—eldest daughter of an American heiress and the Earl of Westcliff—into close contact with client Keir MacRae, a strikingly handsome, rough-hewn whisky distiller. Both are surprised to find themselves so strongly and immediately drawn to someone so different. Merritt is far above Keir’s touch, and Keir, from the remote Scottish island of Islay, dislikes city life and English society. Complicating their budding relationship are a series of increasingly dangerous calamities, from broken casks, to a stabbing, to a warehouse “blown to smithereens”—all pieces of a deadly mystery to which a popular member of the Wallflowers family holds the key. Social differences notwithstanding, Merritt and Keir are kindred spirits: practical, grounded, and kind, they grew up well loved and loving. But losing her husband after less than two years of marriage and, pivotally, not being able to have his children broke Merritt’s heart. That issue’s clichéd resolution is an unfortunate blemish in an otherwise delightful tale. Still, fans of both series are sure to rejoice in the tender love story. [em](July) [/em]