Dangerous Passions (Signet Eclipse) [Mass Market Paperback]

Colonel Lord Marcus Cordell has been commanded back to England by that mysterious organisation, the Black Phoenix, in order to help hunt for a determined killer who is killing off members of the ton. And in order to give him entry into the fashionable drawing rooms of London society, he has been paired in this endeavour with the cool London beauty, Lady Eve Halliday. The duo are to pretend to be engaged while they carry out their investigations so that the gossips will not notice what it is they're really up to. It should have been a fool proof plan, except that Cordell senses that the Lady Eve detests him immensely, and the she has her own agenda that bodes ill for him...

It is obvious that "Dangerous Passions" is part of a series, because, unfortunately, there is, sometimes, that foggy sensation one gets when one wonders into a play when it's halfway through. Fortunately, the author is a very good storyteller, and she really did a wonderful job of holding my interest in spite of everything. Using letters, she fills us in on the source of Lady Eve's anger and disdain for Cordell, even as she carefully fleshes out the characters of her chief portagonist. Both Lady Eve and Cordell are lonley people, driven by their inner demons and determined to act according to their convictions no matter the cost. In Lady Eve's case, her determination to see that Cordell pay for his actions comes into collision with her growing attraction and feelings of love for him; while Cordell's tendency to act according to his strict code of honour costs him over and over again. All this is cleverly framed by the perplexing murder investigation that Cordell and Lady Eve are conducting and that the author carefully and intriguingly draws out till the very end. So that, even though I had some niggles (like who exactly the Black

Phonenix was, what their agenda was, why these murders were so very important to them that they had to be solved and why they chose to pair Lady Eve with Cordell), "Dangerous Passions" still turned out to be a very engaging and absorbing read, and well worth the money and time spent.

I enjoyed this as it was somewhat an unusual story line. I note that one reviewer complained about the Lady's revenge, but taken in the context of her times and the general powerlessness of females born to it (except in one area), its not too surprising to me that she settled on this approach. As she makes clear, it was a stupid plan, but grief and helplessness motivated her, something one can relate to in the face of a great loss. Murdering her enemy is beyond her (she is a properly brought up young lady, if bitter one), though he suspects this is her intent. The enemy, Cordell, is not the man she imagined in her anger, which complicates the revenge, along with other misfortunes and the murders they are called upon to unravel. The main complaint I have is the resolution, part of the next book I believe, has never happened. If it had, there would be no quibble about the faceless antagonist who has tried several times to kill her. This is the only trouble with interwoven novels. If they aren't completed, one does feel that the story stops too soon. I hope the author finishes this. There are some interesting subplots that I would enjoy seeing resolved.

I gave this a 5 because, really, it is very well done and gripping. I, personally, would have preferred a little more romance and a little less investigation, but I knew what I was getting in for, having read the previous book. The author creates believable characters, there is no black and white, just many shades of gray. I particularly like her heroes.

This is not so much a trilogy as a series of related books. The only common denominator in the first two has been the brief appearances by the Duke and Duchess of Sarne who, I devoutly hope, will be the subjects of the final book in the series.