Who Wants to Marry a Duke

July 6, 2020
The chemistry is as intense in the bedroom as it is in the science lab in Jeffries’s intoxicating third Duke Dynasty Regency romance (after The Bachelor). Nine years earlier, Marlowe “Thorn” Drake, the Duke of Thornstock, and Miss Olivia Norley were caught in a compromising position when their first meeting ended in a passionate kiss. Thorn indignantly assumed that Olivia had orchestrated the moment to trap him into marriage—but when he proposed to save her reputation, she turned him down. Though they’ve not seen each other since, Thorn’s wounded pride and sense of betrayal linger. The pair are reunited when Thorn’s half-brother, Grey, engages Olivia, a brilliant chemist, to help solve the cold-case of his father’s murder by testing the body for arsenic poisoning. Convinced Olivia must have ulterior motives for agreeing to the plan, Thorn inserts himself into their trip to Grey’s country seat—only to rediscover Olivia’s charm and intelligence. Their powerful attraction to each other leads to several intense physical encounters, but trust eludes them—until danger comes knocking on Olivia’s lab door, and Thorn and Grey band together to protect her. Jeffries’s perfect blend of romance, mystery, and suspense is sure to have series readers anxious for more. Agent: Pam Ahearn, Ahearn Agency.

Narrator Beverley Crick sweeps the listener back in time to England in the 1800s. As a young man, Marlowe Drake, Duke of Thornstock, encounters Miss Olivia Norley at a ball. The next thing he knows, he's being forced to propose. But Olivia refuses his offer of marriage. Years later, their paths cross again as Thorn's brother seeks Olivia's scientific help in a murder investigation. Crick gives both Thorn and Olivia an added maturity in their voices, which contrasts with their youthful tones at the beginning of the story. Characters range from servants to aristocrats, including members of Thorn's family, and Crick handles them with ease. Listeners will have no problem following the story as Crick's strong narration makes it easy to distinguish who is speaking. S.B. � AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine