A Touch Wicked

A woman searches for her missing sister in Kendrick’s riveting fourth Private Arrangements Victorian romance (after A Bride by Morning). After Emma Dumont’s sister, Isabel, disappears, Emma is attacked by a strange man while searching Isabel’s ransacked Paris apartment, but not before she finds a clue to Isabel’s whereabouts: a card reading simply, “The Masquerade, London.” Emma, who, along with Isabel, is an illegitimate daughter of the Duke of Southampton, heads to London and blackmails the duke into giving her a glowing reference as a lady’s maid, the ideal vantage point from which to spy on high society. She obtains a position in the household of James, the Earl of Kent. Emma then discovers that the Masquerade is an illicit underground club and disguises herself as a noblewoman to gain entry. In this guise and calling herself Tempest, she runs into James, and mutual attraction leads to a steamy affair. Given the class differences between them, Emma believes pursuing a romance to be unwise, but when her continued search for Isabel lands her in danger, James is determined to protect her. Kendrick’s nuanced portraits of her leads enhance the fast-paced plot. Perfectly balancing romance and intrigue, this is a true page-turner. (Oct.)