A Touch of Sin
Followers of Johnson's 19th-century romance St. John series will welcome the story of Pasha Duras, the Eurasian son of Teo and Andre Duras from Taboo. Here, Pasha (who displays the usual romance-novel aversion to marriage) meets his lustful match in Lady Trixi Grosvenor when he rescues her and her small son, Chris, from greedy relatives who will stop at nothing?including murder?to prevent Chris from claiming his inheritance. A succession of kidnappings commence with Pasha saving the day. The novel is primarily one long sexual romp (Johnson's trademark); the plot, however, gets a bit heavy-handed toward the end, as the author drops readers into the Greek War of Independence, circa 1820. For the most part, however, this is lightweight fare, footnoted with choice, little-known facts, which, in the author's words, "are always the most interesting part of the book."Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.