Portia Chadwick is returning from yet another social
event, when her sister, Lily, is snatched and spirited
away. Portia's guardian, Aunt Angelique, immediately
sets off to contact a mysterious man, known as
"Nightshade," to solicit his services. Nightshade is a
problem solver, and if you can afford his fee, he will
find missing items, persons, and discover secrets. Lily
is actually returned home hours later, unharmed, but
Portia is not satisfied because she doesn't know all the
reasons behind the perplexing kidnapping.
Portia is very young, only nineteen, yet she has a self
confidence beyond her years. She is also brash, nosy,
impulsive, and impatient. Her longing for excitement
takes her back to Nightshade, where she insists on
working with him to solve the mystery of Lily's
abduction. This actually leads to another kidnapping,
and Nightshade finds that he can actually use Portia's
help on this case.
Nightshade, who is really Dell Turner, is the orphaned
son of an actress, who has supported himself since he was
only eight years old. He learned to mimic accents and to
impersonate people of different social classes, and to
become a master of disguise. He has also learned to
fight and he knows all the backstreets of London. He's a
confident, quiet man, who's sure of his path in life --
until Portia rocks his world.
Portia is beautiful and maddening, and affects him like
no woman ever has. Though Dell knows there is absolutely
no possible future for them, when Portia admits that she
wants him, as well, they indulge their passion as they
work on the case. When Portia is injured, Dell abruptly
ends their affair and their working together.
I admit that I found Portia quite maddening at first --
she came off as pushy and overly inquisitive. Yet, there
was also something very appealing about her willingness
to go all out to break away from the social life that she
found stifling. Dell was a little harder to know, though
he clearly thought he was being noble by removing himself
from Portia's life. I love Dell's final gesture, which
was so out of character for the man he appeared to be
previously. LORD OF LIES is an enjoyable, steamy read
which has unique characters and a delightful and
satisfying conclusion for this seemingly mismatched
couple.
Determined to save her older sisters from ruin,
Portia Chadwick turns to the mysterious mercenary known only
as Nightshade for help...and in his arms, discovers a whole
new world of thieves and cutpurses, danger and passion.
Portia knows she'll never have a life of adventure. But when
a dangerous moneylender kidnaps her sister, Portia seeks
help from a man known only as Nightshade. Soon she finds
herself charging headfirst into his world of intrigue and
danger—and unexpected passion.
Dell Turner grew up in London's back alleys and gin lanes.
Vowing to escape his low beginnings, he hires himself out to
society's elite. When he accepts a job from a beautiful
young lady, he doesn't anticipate her relentless
determination to join his mad occupation...or her unnerving
ability to inspire emotions he thought long buried. She's as
dangerous to him as his world is to her, and yet Dell can't
bring himself to turn Portia away... even if it means
risking her life.
"You do strange things to me, Dell Turner. Tell me I am
not alone in what I feel."
His voice was low and rough. His eyes burned. "You are not
alone," he said.
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