Lord of Darkness

Hoyt’s fifth Maiden Lane romance (after Thief of Shadows) captures the essence of the Ghost of St. Giles, Georgian-era London’s “protector of the weak.” Godric St. John spends his days as a gentleman of leisure and his nights as the legendary Ghost, saving women and children from human predators. Then Godric’s wife, Megs, arrives in London after a two-year absence. Megs is determined to unmask and destroy the Ghost, believing that he was responsible for the death of her lover, Roger, who was killed before he could marry her. She also longs for children and wants Godric to consummate their marriage of convenience, but Godric walls himself off out of loyalty to his deceased first wife, Clara. Hoyt’s writing is imbued with great depth of emotion as she reveals Megs and Godric’s separate grief. Heartbreaking misunderstandings create an edgy tension-filled plot as the spouses must decide whether they can leave behind the past and embrace their future together. Agent: Susannah Taylor, Richard Henshaw Group. (Feb.)