Gambler's Daughter [Mass Market Paperback]

In 1821 London, many people attended the funeral of Daniel Murphy. However, apart from perhaps his daughter Sabrina, most wanted to see the notorious gambler buried. Being the GAMBLER'S DAUGHTER means your own reputation is lost. It is therefore easy to understand how someone can accuse Sabrina of murder as she is an easy mark. To stay one step away from the gallows, Sabrina agrees to pretend to be a long missing cousin to the wealthy Trevelyn family.

The Trevelyns do not welcome Sabrina into their arms. If she is their cousin, she impacts on their inheritance. If she is the impostor they think she is, they do not want anything to do with her. Somehow Sabrina has a calming effect on the troubled family, especially the guilt-laden Edward. As Sabrina and Edward fall in love, someone tries to kill her. She wonders if her beloved is the culprit because his first wife died under mysterious circumstances. She also worries about what will happen when she tells Edward the truth.

Fans of the Regency romance will not be gambling if they read the extremely enjoyable THE GAMBLER'S DAUGHTER. The story line is filled with action and non-stop suspense as the audience will try to fathom the identity of the assailant. The lead characters are a fun pair, whose separate feelings of guilt appear ready to destroy their love. Award winning author Ruth Owen writes a pleasurable historical romance that will send fans looking for her previous works.

Harriet Klausner

This book catches your interest from the first page and you cannot put it down. The cast of characters are so unique. I will be looking for more books by Ruth Owen.

From the back cover:

A dangerous charade...

Sabrina Murphy had spent most of her life trying to live down the reputation of her gambler father. But when wrongly accused of murder, she is forced into a desperate scheme in an attempt to dodge the authorities.

When Sabrina arrives at the Trevelyan estate claiming to be a long-lost cousin, the family is justly suspicious--for acknowledging her means losing their inheritance to her. But even Lord Edward must admit that the woman bears a striking resemblance to the heiress, who disappeared when she was only a child. And there is no denying that her gentle presence works its magic on his trouble family--and that her passionate kisses help to mend his tattered heart.

But when a series of near fatal accidents threatens her life, the finger of guilt points straight at the dark lord, whose wife died under mysterious circumstances years before. Now there's more at stake than the Trevelyan fortune. Drawn together by a desire neither can resist, Sabrina and Edward struggle to uncover the truth. But her deception and his past could cost them their chance at love--and possibly their very lives...

And my review:

This book was fairly well written, with an easy-to-read flowing style (that didn't head hop) and enjoyable characters. The mystery was well executed, and the action of the plot never slowed down for a minute.

So why only three stars? I felt that the romance was somewhat lacking in this book. Not that the author didn't spend enough time developing it (she devoted at least half of the book to it), but that it just wasn't very moving or compelling. Edward was a bit too much of the stereotypical brooding, tortured hero, and he didn't develop much beyond that. I didn't really felt like I got to see deeper into him than his past hurts.

I also felt that the way he used sex as a weapon against Sabrina late into the book very distasteful. I might have come around to liking the romance part of this book, but that pretty much killed it for me. Yes, Edward felt bad about it later, but really, it only seemed he regretted his actions because Sabrina had been a virgin. As if practically raping her because he believes she's been unfaithful would have been okay if she'd been an experienced woman. Grr.

After this point, I started skimming just to see how the mystery turned out. It did leave me surprised, but not very satisfied. Also, I felt the way Edward was so quick to forgive Sabrina's deception at the end of the book was a little contrived. After the way he'd been about deception before, his sudden turn-around in the space less than ten pages just didn't feel believeable. Even given the truth about his first wife's death (I'm not about to give that one away!) still didn't make it work.

Still, this was an okay read, just not one that was all that compelling or one that stays with the reader after it's over. If you really want to read this, I would suggest borrowing it from the library instead of buying it, as it's not a keeper.