A Good Rake Is Hard to Find

Collins (the Wicked Widows series) launches the Lords of Anarchy historical series with the lure of love and mystery. Leonora Craven bemoans her limited rights as a woman in Regency England and knows that she must seek the help of her former betrothed, Lord Frederick Lisle, to solve the murder of her brother, Jonathan. Lenora believes that Jonathan’s death was linked to his membership in the Lords of Anarchy club. Freddy proposes that in order to gain entry to events hosted by the Lords of Anarchy, he and Leonora repair their broken engagement. True attraction underlies the false arrangement, but Leonora can’t bear to explain why she broke things off years ago. The sensuous love scenes are evenly matched with a captivating mystery as Leonora and Freddy work together to uncover the culprit, often putting their own lives in danger. This is a fresh and promising start to the series. Agent: Holly Root, Waxman Leavell Literary Agency. (Mar.)