The Third Circle

Written by Amanda Quick
Review by Nan Curnutt

In Leona Hewitt’s desperation to get back the aurora stone, a crystal that was stolen from her mother, she dresses as a male servant and breaks into a museum of paranormal antiquities. There she meets Thaddeus Ware, who is also trying to recapture the stone. They decide to join forces. Before they can get the stone, they stumble across a dead woman and unleash a poison that nearly kills them both. So begins a mysterious chain of events that leads them into an even closer association.

Jayne Ann Krentz has written four novels about the Arcane Society. This story and the novel Second Sight are authored under the pseudonym Amanda Quick and set in the late Victorian era. The other two books are written under the author’s own name and set in modern times. The Arcane Society is a group of people who have special metaphysical powers that pass down through generations. Each book reveals a mystery surrounding members of this society. Although this novel has the trademark Amanda Quick clever plot and fast-paced action, the dialogue between the two main characters doesn’t sparkle with her usual wit.