Touch of a Rogue

Starred review from January 16, 2012
Balancing sleuthing and romance with a touch of the mystical, Marlowe’s smart and amusing return to the Preston family (introduced in Touch of a Thief) features charming investigator Jacob Preston, who broadcasts his fondness for married women but keeps his clairvoyance a secret. Young countess Julianne Tyndale asks Jacob to prove her late husband’s death was not a suicide and help her find the sixth ancient Druid dagger in the set he was collecting. As the investigation proceeds, Jacob and Julianne play a delightful cat-and-mouse game of attraction, alternating between taking the lead and dodging commitment. Julianne, a budding feminist trained on the writings of Mary Wollstonecraft, pushes Jacob’s boundaries (and high society’s) with her demands to be fully involved in the search, and is full of sparklingly righteous outrage when she encounters obnoxious men. Fans of historical paranormals will delight in this fetching 19th-century romp. Agent: Natasha Kern, Natasha Kern Literary Agency.

March 1, 2012
Jacob Preston has a certain reputation in London. Not only is he rumored to be a legendary lover but he has a way of solving cases that have baffled Bow Street. Lady Julianne Cambourne is more interested in Jacob's second set of skills than his first. Although the authorities have ruled that Julianne's husband committed suicide, she knows he was murdered. Julianne needs Jacob to help prove that her husband did not take his own life and to find a set of ancient daggers. Julianne's husband owned one, while five more are floating around, and an anonymous collector is willing to pay Julianne a considerable (and much-needed) sum for locating them. Although Julianne is determined to keep things strictly business between her and Jacob, the more time he spends with her, the more tempting it is to mix pleasure with business. The second in Marlowe's wonderfully original Victorian-set historical series is fueled by incendiary love scenes and an abundance of high-stakes, paranormal-laced danger.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)