Thief of shadows

Who would have thought that Lady Isabel Beckinhall has a gift for saving gentlemen? Of course, the first time was just an accident. After all, what was Isabel to do when she came across the wounded Ghost of St. Giles? If she left him behind, a cranky mob of Londoners was certain to tear him limb from limb. So Isabel takes the Ghost home with her only to have him vanish the next day. Now Isabel finds herself roped into saving Mr. Winter Makepeace, the manager of the Home for Unfortunate Infants and Foundling Children. If someone doesn't teach Winter how to fit into polite society, the insufferable man risks losing funding for his charity and his position. Isabel has no other choice but to act as social tutor to Winter, who, for some odd reason, seems awfully familiar. In the fourth installment in the Maiden Lane series, all of Hoyt's signature literary ingredients wickedly clever dialogue, superbly nuanced characters, danger, and scorching sexual chemistry click neatly into place to create a breathtakingly romantic love story.--Charles, John Copyright 2010 Booklist

Hoyt's fourth Maiden Lane Georgian-era romance (after Scandalous Desires) is an expert blend of scintillating romance and mystery. The masked Ghost of St. Giles rescues orphaned children from the streets of one of London's less than savory neighborhoods. Widowed baroness Isabel Beckinhall rescues the unconscious "ghost" after finding him injured in the street; before she can ascertain his identity, he awakens and begs her to leave his mask in place. Little does she know he is Winter Makepeace, manager of a local orphanage, whom Isabel finds "dour" as she tutors him in charming potential donors. Neither anticipates the passion blossoming between them, a passion that will likely end in heartbreak in their class-conscious society. Suspense adds intensity as "lassie snatchers" kidnap orphans before the Ghost can save them, and the romance between the beautiful and quick-witted Isabel and the masked champion of the downtrodden propels this novel to the top of its genre. Agent: Susannah Taylor, Richard Henshaw Group. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

As a member of the Ladies Syndicate for the Benefit of the Home for Unfortunate Infants and Foundling Children, the widowed Baroness Isabel Beckinhall finds herself in the depressed London area of St. Giles. She is there to meet with the home's manager, Winter Makepeace, but instead she rescues from a mob the Ghost of St. Giles, a masked man in Harlequin motley who is the elusive protector of the denizens of the impoverished neighborhood. Later, Isabel chides Winter, a cold and austere young man at odds with his new patronesses and the society of aristocrats, for missing their appointment. But to entice supporters to the home, it has been suggested that Winter needs some polish and that the intriguing Lady Isabel should school the schoolteacher. Neither one has the ghost of a chance of coming out of this unscathed. Verdict Hoyt's (Scandalous Desires) latest Georgian tale features a woman who hides the disappointment of her childless marriage behind insouciance and a young crusader afraid to release the beast that guides his clandestine persona. Yet when the pair finally come together, desire and long-denied sensuality explode upon the page. Expect more ghostly intrigue in Hoyt's upcoming Lord of Darkness. [Hoyt made her first foray to BookExpo America this year. Read her impressions at http://elizabethhoyt.com/news.]-Bette-Lee Fox, Library Journal (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.