Mischief

Imogen Waterstone has always prided herself on being a thoroughly independent young woman, but now she needs a man of implacable will and nerves of iron. That's why she invited Matthias Marshall, infamous Earl of Colchester, to her home in Upper Strickland. Who better than the legendary explorer to help her lay the perfect trap?

Her scheme is simple, really: She plans to let it be known that when she inherited her uncle's collection of antiquities, she also inherited a map to a fabulous ancient treasure. She's sure that her enemy would risk financial ruin in pursuit of the mythical artifact. And to make doubly sure the scoundrel took the bait, she wants Colchester to pretend that he's out to seduce Imogene so that he, too, could get his hands on her map.

Yet in all of her plotting, Imogene never anticipates Colchester's violent reaction to her request or her own electrifying reaction to him. Neither does she expect that a malevolent threat would emerge from the labyrinth of London--sinister enough to endanger her and Colchester's lives.
Amazon.com ReviewInnocent but intrepid Imogen Waterstone enlists the aid of the fearsome Earl of Colchester in her dangerous pursuit of justice and revenge. Unable to resist the challenge posed by the unconventional beauty, Matthias Marshall finds himself on the trail of a killer and long-lost treasure, but discovers love along the way.
From Publishers WeeklyHell's teeth! Readers will no more be able to put down Quick's 12th Regency romance than Imogen Waterstone can fend off the delicious advances of Matthias Marshall, Earl of Colchester. From page one, Quick's contract with the reader is clear. Nothing is as it seems, and the plot teases until the happy ending. Of course, the earl known as “Cold-bloodied” Colchester will turn out to be a lamb and a love. Of course, the woman dubbed “Immodest Imogen” is a virgin beneath her heaving bosom. And there's no doubt that the two shall marry, for they make a great business of announcing all the reasons why they can't. But even if the romance is a sure thing, there's suspense enough. At great peril to themselves, Matthias and Imogen must unravel the identity of a pair of cunning murderers who have infiltrated high society. Quick, who is Jayne Ann Krentz writing pseudonymously, has created another golden link here in her long chain of bestsellers (Mystique, etc.). Her alchemical formula? Feisty yet feminine women, sublimely ironic men, amusing chat, hot sex and a sprinkling of period vocabulary and details?but not enough to make it feel like a history lesson. Major ad/promo.
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