England and Scotland, 1818

Lady Marlena Corland’s marriage ended in disaster. Her cousin, Lord Wexin, gave witness that he saw her murder her dissolute husband, saw her still holding the bloody scissors with which she had slashed the victim and wearing a blood-covered robe. Marlena escaped before she could be taken into custody.

The Marquess of Tannerton, better known as Tanner, wondered what crime the woman the Bow Street Runner held in restraints had committed. Not that it truly mattered. None of the ship’s passengers waiting in the cabin expected to survive the impending shipwreck. The puzzle helped divert Tanner from his dismal contemplation of the worthless, hedonistic life he had led. When the Bow Street Runner took the last place in the last lifeboat, forsaking his prisoner to a watery grave, Tanner did everything he could to save her.

For three years, Marlena hid as governess for her best friend in Ireland, only to be captured after a visitor from London returned and reported her whereabouts. Escape seems possible again now, and Marlena isn’t about to trust anyone. However, she can’t get rid of Tanner, a man she admired during her debut season. It is clear he doesn't remember her, but he saved her life and insists on seeing her to safety in Scotland. The trip is fraught with the peril of Marlena’s possible discovery, either by those seeking a reward for turning her in or by Tanner learning who she really is. It seems impossible to clear her name, and Tanner can only be injured with any connection to the ‘Vanishing Viscountess.’ Her lies are her means of protecting him.

Diane Gaston’s THE VANISHING VISCOUNTESS is a suspense-adventure story wrapped around many of the Regency Romance elements so many of us love. The love that arises between Tanner and Marlena seems both pointless and hopeless when Marlena faces hanging if she is ever captured. Both characters will attract you with their past luggage, current resourcefulness, and their loving care of each other during their trip. There are two sub-plots interwoven with the main characters' travails that add depth and understanding to the situation. These story threads all come together in a perilously climactic ending.

Robin Lee