In the meantime, though, I've been reading like a fiend. It's very relaxing when I get home from a long day at work to sit and escape into a story I know will end well. It's even better when the author is one I already love to read. This time out, I have the latest from Eve Silver, Seduced by a Stranger (Zebra). She's gone back this month to her terrific, rather gothic historical time period, with Catherine Weston going to visit an old friend at Cairncroft Abbey. Her friend Madeline St. Aubyn is not well, and seems to be getting worse all the time. Her cousin Gabriel St. Aubyn doesn't help matters, though Catherine does find herself intrigued by this solitary, mysterious man, although she has hidden some parts of her life from everyone. Gabriel has secrets of his own, dark and dangerous secrets, but he can't control the reaction he has to Catherine's presence in his home. His family history is violent and tormented, but he's worked hard to get where he is now. Then it's discovered a murderer is on the loose, and Catherine has to wonder if Gabriel is somehow connected to the crime. Her heart tells her one thing, but the evidence points another way. Eve Silver is absolutely terrific at setting the scene for her stories, drawing the reader into a world that makes you jump at the smallest sound and hope that nothing too bad is hidden in the shadows. And then there's the romance.... Gabriel is a fabulously tortured hero, with horrific secrets in his past that have made him into the man he is, and that man might not be as bad as he fears. I know I've said this before, but if you loved Victoria Holt's old gothic romances, Eve Silver is currently the best author out there writing in the same vein. Only much hotter. I always find her books to be necessary additions to my keeper shelf. This one has earned four of Cupid's five arrows. I can't wait for her next one!
Until next time, happy reading!
