The Viscount Needs a Wife

Beverley’s latest Regency romance introduces pragmatic lovers who find happiness together despite distractions from family and civil unrest. Kitty Cateril’s war hero husband was injured in battle and eventually died. Trapped with her depressed mother-in-law, Kitty is desperate to escape and find some joy in life again. Beau Braydon, the newly minted Viscount Dauntry, seeks a “sensible” wife to manage his country estate—along with the previous viscount’s mother and Beau’s spoiled daughter, Isabella—while Beau investigates crimes for the Home Office in London. Despite an inauspicious first meeting, Beau and Kitty wed and find they are quite compatible, in and out of bed. Complications ensue as Kitty deals with the dowager’s icy hostility and Isabella’s selfishness, while Beau is jealous of the soldiers who fondly remember Kitty as their comrade’s lovely young wife. An assassination attempt on members of the royal family and the mystery of the old viscount’s missing wife provide further distractions before the inevitable happy ending. Beverley’s fans will enjoy the story and its unlikely lovers. Agent: Margaret Ruley, Rotrosen Agency. (Apr.)