Protecting Her Heart

Allen’s chaste and diverting third Hampton House Victorian romance (after To Capture His Heart) pairs a newly minted female doctor with the police officer helping her to investigate a cold case. After graduating medical school in Pennsylvania, Charlotte Duvall heads home to London at the request of a disturbing letter from her father, telling her he has “kicked a hornet’s nest” to uncover new secrets about the death of Charlotte’s mother more than two decades ago. While still at sea, Charlotte receives a telegram notifying her of her father’s death, leaving her to investigate her mother’s purported drowning without his help. Fortunately John Ellis, director of the London Metropolitan Police’s Criminal Investigation Department and a longtime friend of Charlotte’s whom she greatly missed during her time away, is eager to assist. As they grow closer to the truth, however, Charlotte is assaulted and warned away from investigating further, activating John’s fierce protective instincts. The pair inevitably fall for each other, and John resolves to marry Charlotte, but Charlotte, who has found a job at a hospital, hesitates due to societal prejudices against married women working. Charlotte is just the kind of strong female lead historical romance readers adore, and the forward-thinking hero is her ideal counterpart. Add in a pinch of mystery, and this proves irresistible. (Jan.)