Eve Dearing enjoys success as a Gothic writer, which gives
her the independence she craves. At her publisher's
invitation, Eve goes to London to participate in a
symposium with other women writers. After the first public
event, a gentleman chastises her on her one-dimensional
heroes that are inferior to her heroines. Taking umbrage
with him, Eve is unprepared when during the argument a
sense of malevolence overwhelms her. As a young girl, Eve
would have visions and occasionally read people's minds.
Her mother could foresee the future, but Eve's father
belittled her talent. After her mother's death, Eve
suppressed her ability, wanting to gain her father's
approval.
Ash, Viscount Denison, returns from the Spanish Campaign
with no other objective than to enjoy every precious moment
of life. An old comrade appears and asks Ash to expose a
mysterious writer, Angelo, who infers that old accidents
are in reality successful murders. The investigation takes
a personal turn when Angelo suggests Ash's brother was
murdered. Ash attends a writers' symposium of possible
suspects. There he meets Eve Dearing, a sharp-tongued shrew
who ignores his famous charm. After numerous volatile
encounters, Ash loses his heart.
Eve dreads Ash's response when he learns of her "talent."
She fears rejection, yet Eve cannot lie. Ash, a harden
skeptic, surprises her as he fights to keep her out of the
killer's reach and battles for her heart.
Ms. Thornton entertains readers with a touch of paranormal
that does not distract from the romance or the mystery.
There are plenty of red herrings and an unusual cast of odd
and endearing characters with unusual foibles.
After years of heroism in the fight against the French, Ash
Denison wants nothing more than to savor the good life. But
an urgent request has sent him to a writer’s symposium. His
charge: to unmask an author who has rattled several members
of the ton by revealing their most intimate, most
scandalous secrets. Not one to be left out, when Ash
encounters a bold, beautiful–irresistibly aloof–woman
writer, he can’t help stirring up some gossip of his
own. . . .
Much to Eve Dearing’s surprise, Ash is far from the well-
mannered gentleman she’s heard about. In fact, he’s
shockingly brash and has taken an inexplicable interest in
manhandling her at every turn. Yet something about his
searing embrace makes her forgive his wicked behavior–and
succumb to his dangerous seduction. And when a fellow
writer is brutally attacked and Eve becomes the killer’s
next target, Ash surprises her once more by vowing not only
to keep her safe . . . but to win her heart.