AN IMPROPER ARISTOCRAT – Deb Marlowe
Harlequin Historical #924
ISBN-13: 978-0-373-29524-1
ISBN-10: 0-373-29524-3
December 2008
Historical Romance

Egypt and England – 1820

The Earl of Treyford has spent his adult life avoiding responsibility and pursuing a life of adventure. Uncharacteristically, he has taken a partner to work with him in Egypt, the young Richard Latimer. In the Valley of the Kings, however, Trey's carefree life disintegrates when Richard is murdered near their camp, and Trey promises the dying man to take care of his sister and, most important -- to protect her. With great reluctance, Trey returns to England to ensure that Chione Latimer is safe from whatever danger Richard thinks she's in, and then he plans to return to Egypt and his real life.

What Trey finds at the Latimer home is a family in chaos. And Miss Latimer is hardly the "older" sister Trey expected to find. In actual fact, Chione is a breathtakingly beautiful young woman. She is also an independent, self-sufficient, always-under-control chit who does not make Trey's arrival very easy. Her grandfather has been missing for over a year; his young children are in her care, and, because Mervyn Latimer has not been declared dead, his solicitors will not release any money to Chione to run the house or clothe the children. To make ends meet, Chione writes adventure novels under a man's name, hardly the type of position a well-born young Englishwoman should be in. Trey, angry about having to deal with other people's problems, immediately puts Chione on defense. To her, Trey is just another male in her life who puts adventure before responsibility -- someone else she cannot rely on.

Chione is determined to find her grandfather, and she hopes that Richard gave Trey some clues as to what he found out about the old man's disappearance. But everything Richard said or did is confusing and doesn't lead to any answers. One night, men break into the house, obviously trying to find something, and Chione and Trey manage to run them off. Just what are the villains searching for? And how much danger is Chione really in? Entranced by the lovely girl, Trey stays on, hoping to make quick work of this issue – as long as he can keep from becoming too mesmerized by the intelligent, quick-witted Chione.

AN IMPROPER ARISTOCRAT is an excellent romantic-adventure story. Throughout the tale, readers are given few clues as to the eventual outcome. There are a myriad of characters that all play important roles, and there's plenty of excitement as we try to figure out the underlying mystery of Chione's past. The dialogue is realistic, and the plot is truly unique as this fast-paced book careens to a very surprising, and very satisfying, conclusion. Both Trey and Chione must do some heavy soul-searching as they are thrown together to solve the mystery of Mervyn's disappearance.

A brilliant, well-written novel, AN IMPROPER ARISTOCRAT is sure to warm up the cold winter nights with its thrilling, sensual story.

Jani Brooks