Review: Realistic historical romance
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 9, 2013
Richard Worth has sold his commission in the army and petitioned King George to restore his birthright.  He needs to marry the right woman to help him reach his goals. Ever the soldier he asks his friend Jonathan Wyndham, Duke of Desford, which well-born women are in dire enough financial straits to consider an offer of marriage from him.  Of the three suggested Richard chooses Caroline Hutton.  Meanwhile, the murder of the Duke's cousin, Gilbert Kenmure, casts a pall of suspicion on Richard and Caroline.Caroline isn't a debutante, she's twenty-three.  Her circumstances are straitened due to her father's gambling.  However, Caroline doesn't know just how dire until she travels to London at her Aunt's request.Esther Besant, Caroline's aunt, is no one's friend.  She's hatched a plot to help herself by using Caroline.  There's no love lost between the two and Caroline is well aware of her aunt's duplicity but unaware of its depths.Richard joined the army after a scandal of monumental proportions.  He's done well financially and distinguished himself under Marlborough's command rising to the rank of Colonel.  He conducts his return to society and quest for a wife like a military campaign.  There is very little softness to Richard.Jonathan Wyndham, Duke of Desford, served under Richard.  He left the army when, courtesy of a quirk of succession, he inherited the title.  All the eligible women, and many who aren't, have set their caps for him.  He's polished, proper, and knows exactly what an appealing package he is.Richard is handsome in a stark, almost forbidding way while Caroline is generally considered plain.  Caroline is one of those women whose beauty lies in more than her features.  It's there for the discerning eye but is often overlooked for the more florid women around her.  Richard and Caroline's marriage is more contractual and to their mutual benefit. The above excerpt doesn't leave much room for even affection does it?  However, their first meeting might belie that assumption."All eyes turned discreetly in the direction indicated by Mrs. Shuttleworth's fan. Caroline's gaze was caught first by the magnificent coat smoldering red and gold in the candlelight, then shifted to the man's face, where it lingered. He was looking out over the assembly, his countenance devoid of expression. His face looked, she thought, like the side of a broken cliff, all distant planes and crags. Or perhaps his face had more the roughness of a cast come from the hands of a strong, impatient sculptor and was awaiting the fine chiseling. The face was certainly striking for its irregular features and high cheekbones. Arresting, even, for its look of implacable masculinity. But not handsome. At once attracted and repelled, Caroline looked hastily away."If you're looking for a historical romance with wine, roses, poetry and sighs you'll have to look elsewhere.  SUSPICIOUS HEARTS is dark and tense, almost gothic but not quite because there's never a question as to Richard's innocence regarding Gilbert's murder.A realistic romance with a murder mystery, old scandal, and betrayal threaded throughout. There are lighter moments as when Richard and Caroline are on their way to a social engagement.  Leaving their home in St. James Square for Marleybone Richard takes a shortcut.  The ageless, "we're lost, no we aren't I know exactly where we are." a welcome touch of levity and connection for Caroline and Richard.  The characterization is finely done with the secondary characters more than mere reflections for the leads. I would dearly like to know what became of Chief Constable Locke and Caroline's best friend Martha Sheridan.  These two were the most intriguing and possibly daring characters besides Richard and Caroline.There's something gratifying and deeply erotic about a slow burn love built on genuine liking, rapport and respect.  SUSPICIOUS HEARTS is a most satisfying read.Reviewed by IvyD for Manic Readers & Miss Ivy's Book Nook