Slightly Shady
There's somethingSlightly Shadyabout Lavinia Lake. First of  all, no decent woman would go into trade, even when an unscrupulous employer  leaves her stranded abroad with her young niece. But the capable Lavinia has  landed on her feet, peddling dubious reproductions of ancient artifacts in Rome  to earn passage home. When a madman ransacks her shop, accusing her of aiding  and abetting a murderous gang of thieves, Lavinia and her niece Emeline return  to London, where Lavinia once more takes lemons and makes lemonade, becoming a  private investigator. In the course of her first discreet inquiry for a wealthy  aristocrat with secrets to hide, Lavinia runs into her madman once more,  standing over the recently deceased body of a blackmailer. Not exactly your  usual beginning for a relationship, but Mr. Tobias March is hardly an ordinary  man. In fact, he's quite extraordinary, Lavinia very reluctantly admits to  herself. When threats to Lavinia's safety force her into an unlikely partnership  with the mysterious Mr. March, the fur--and a petticoat or two--flies. A heady  combination of passion and the shared thrill of the hunt for a depraved murderer  may lead Lavinia and Tobias to form a partnership of a more permanent kind.  Lively suspense with a healthy dose of passion, Amanda Quick'sSlightly  Shadyis truly addictive storytelling.--Alison Trinkle