A Lady's Secret by Jo Beverley...

[fajrdrako]

Jo Beverley is a writer and a friend and a fellow Dorothy Dunnett fan. I recently received the happy news that her latest romance novel, A Lady's Secret is on the New York Times top-twenty bestseller list. I was thrilled for her.

And then I received in the mail a package from Jo, with an autographed copy of the book - which I had been intending to buy as soon as I could go to a bookstore again. She'd heard about The Foot and sent it as a convalescent present. I was thrilled.

I read it today. And though I've loved many of Jo's books, I think this might just be my favourite - well, top three or four, anyway. It's in the Malloren series, but that fact is nicely hidden till about halfway through the book. And the climax has some delightful surprises that I never anticipated. Usually Jo's setting is England the protagonists are English; this time, the female lead is Italian, which is fun; and half the action takes place in France.

It's a spoiler but I really must add that Lord Rothgar is in the book, and better than ever.