Lucasta
Brown-haired, brown-eyed Lucasta is not surprised when Viscount Kennington falls instantly in love with her blonde and blue-eyed sister, Camilla, a ‘diamond of the first water’. Nor is she surprised that her sister appears to return his affection, for he is handsome, rich and titled. But she is disgusted when Camilla distances herself from the Viscount when he is accused of murder. Angry at her family’s attitude, aware that he is innocent, Lucasta knows she has to overcome her shyness and help him.
Melinda Hammond, who also writes as Sarah Mallory for Harlequin Mills & Boon, has written another vivid Georgian romance, set mainly in London, amongst both the upper crust and the lower classes (including an amusing scene in a cheese shop), with some memorable characters and a historical detail which shows her usual accurate, but lightly worn, knowledge of the period. With its descriptions of Newgate, and taverns in the less salubrious areas of the East End, and with a plot centring round the uncovering of the real villain, this is a darker book than her previous ones, but is, like them, a thoroughly enjoyable read.
