Mistress Of Scandal
Sara Bennett
ISBN-10: 0060796495
Avon, April 2007, 384 pp
Historical Romance – Victorian
$5.99 (US) $7.99 (CDN)
Reviewed by Laurel
April 2007
Francesca Greentree resides in Yorkshire, having lived a quiet and reserved life she is constantly reminded and embarrassed by her birth mother Aphrodite, a well-known courtesan in England. She shuns all emotions regarding her mother and prefers to think she does not exist. While returning home, she comes across a man sinking in a pool of quick sand. Helping him out she is overcome with desire, she can only respond in a sarcastic, witty banter with this man. As time goes by and the more she gets to know Sebastian her fears become reality as she does the unthinkable and submits to her inner desires, preparing herself for one night of passion. But Francesca becomes scared at her bold and wanton nature; embarrassed she flees into the night, never to see Sebastian again. Six weeks later when her adoptive mother announces they are going to London for the season, Francesca runs into Sebastian and all that untamed desire returns.
Sebastian Thorne is a man of very few words; for the past ten years he has lived a dangerous and thrilling life as a private investigator for the Upper Society in London. When Aphrodite hires him to uncover the secrets of who kidnapped her babies all those years ago, she expresses a warning that her youngest Francesca is in the most danger. She has always known who arranged the kidnapping but will not tell him, she prefers him to find the proof that will expose this horrible crime to Society. When Sebastian first lays eyes on Francesca he comes face to face with the woman in his dreams. After the disastrous night weeks ago he is surprised to run into Francesca in London, but when she throws herself innocently into the very people who kidnapped her to help a young child, he vows to protect his woman at all costs, even if that means returning to a life he threw away.
Mistress of Scandal is the long awaited and exciting conclusion to Sara’s “Greentree Sisters Trilogy” and it did not disappoint. Francesca was the youngest sister who struggled the most with her identity and who her mother was. To have a man come in her life and stir these desires and urges she fought to keep hidden from the public and herself was a source of inner conflict for Francesca. Sara took this conflict and wrote Francesca as practical and sensible woman who was gaining a new experience in life, fearful of what was to come but smart enough to seek advice and mend fences along the way. The chemistry between Sebastian and Francesca was evident from the moment they locked eyes. They shared an undeniable bond and were consumed with a need to be with each other, even though lies, deceit and danger lurked in every corner.
Sara Bennett skilfully wrote a suspenseful and intricately laid plot around “the kidnapping” that was shocking and a true come out from underneath moment, as I never suspected that person. Mistress of Scandal is a passionate and exciting love story, it’s one that I heartily recommend.