Dangerous

Quick's latest work, a flimsy and fairly routine piece, lacks the panache that made her earlier Regencies interesting. Prudence Merryweather and Sebastian Fleetwood, the ``legendary'' Earl of Angelstone, hit it off after meeting at a ball because they share an element of ``intellectual curiosity'': she hunts ``spectral phenomena,'' and he (courtesy of a Bow Street Runner who slips him intriguing cases) hunts criminals. When, at another party, Prue and Sebastian are caught pussyfooting in the hostess's bedroom, an impromptu engagement results, giving them ample opportunity to poke into each other's investigations. Sebastian, whose parents were ill-treated by the family, has wanted revenge on his kin for years; when his aunt publicly insults Prue, he is ready to exploit his role as head of the family and get them booted out of society. However, Prue's moderating influence persuades him to set aside revenge and act as a benevolent patriarch, a scenario that may sound familiar to readers of Wildest Hearts, this author's most recent contemporary romance (written as Jayne Ann Krentz). (May)