A Rogue by Night

April 22, 2019
Bowen’s slightly loopy third Devils of Dover novel (after Last Night with the Earl), set in 1820 but with only lip service paid to the class strictures of the era, introduces a couple entangled in the smuggling that was rife on the English coast in the 18th and 19th centuries. Katherine Wright’s family has always supported itself by smuggling. When her brother is shot by patrols, she tries to tend his wounds, but fears he’ll be discovered and arrested. Unexpectedly, the Wrights are aided by Harland Hayward, Baron Strathmore, an eccentric nobleman trained as a surgeon who admires Katherine’s medical prowess as well as her beauty. To finance a safer life for her family, Katherine accepts a paid assignment to accompany Strathmore to rescue some seamen, which forces her into dangerous intimacy with the daring doctor. Both have been hurt before by faithless partners and have secrets that inhibit their ability to trust, but an irresistible attraction breaks through their barriers. Katherine is remarkably refined for a smuggler’s daughter, and both her family and Strathmore’s are implausibly willing to accept their romance, but the chemistry between her and Strathmore will distract readers from these and other weaknesses in the plot. Agent: Stefanie Lieberman, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc.

Starred review from April 1, 2019
Katherine Wright didn't need to be a fortune-teller to predict that one day smuggling would be the death of someone in her family, which is exactly why she has been pushing her brother, Matthew, to give it up. Unfortunately, before Matthew heeds the wisdom of his sister's words, he undertakes another mission and winds up being shot by one of the king's custom officers. As Katherine draws upon her medical skills in a desperate attempt to stitch Matthew up, she is shocked to find Dr. Harland Hayward discretely offering his assistance. Accepting Harland's offer of help as well as his silence as to just how Matthew incurred his wounds would be a blessing, but Katherine is positive the Lord Doctor's offer comes with a high price of its own. RITA Award-winner Bowen so perfectly captures the swashbuckling action and luscious romance of Rafael Sabatini's classic novels in the latest dynamically plotted and danger-drenched addition to her Devils of Dover series that it is easy to imagine Errol Flynn clamoring to play the lead.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)