But the death of a lord has shaken Lucinda to her core. At the murder scene, she picks up traces of a poison derived from a very rare species of fern. So rare, in fact, that only one specimen exists in all of England—and it was stolen from her conservatory just last month.
To keep her name out of the investigation and to find the murderer, Lucinda hires a fellow Arcane Society member. Caleb Jones runs a psychical investigation agency. A descendant of the founder of the Society, he is very good at protecting its secrets—and frighteningly good getting at the truth. Immediately, Lucinda senses both a raw power and undeniable intensity in the imposing man.
But as a nearly overwhelming desire blooms between Caleb and Lucinda, they are drawn into the dark heart of a deadly conspiracy that can be traced to the early days of the Arcane Society—and to a legacy of madness that could plunge Caleb into the depths of his own tortured soul…
is absolutely ruined after she’s accused of poisoning her fiancé months earlier.
She’s a highly-adept botanist who can feel and see the power of the plants
around her, and she can sense the presence of any poison, especially if it’s
plant-based. After one of her rare ferns is stolen and used as a poison to
murder someone, she seeks help from Caleb Jones.
their lineage back to Sylvester the Alchemist, the founder of the Arcane
Society, and every member of the family for generations is known to have
incredible psychical powers. Caleb, however, is cursed to fall into madness and
take his own life. He fights the curse every day, but after meeting Lucinda, he
realizes there’s more to life than solving puzzles and mysteries.
a strong woman due to the terrible loss and ordeal she’s suffered, and if not
for the fortune she’d inherited, she likely would’ve been homeless on the
street.
at times you just want to slap him. He knows how to behave in the polite society,
but he often chooses not to because he doesn’t have the time to bother with
niceties. His attitude was actually refreshing.
are great additions to the story. I really liked them and would’ve loved to
read more about their romance. Lady Victoria returns with her matchmaking
efforts. Unfortunately, Harrow from the previous books didn’t return in this
one, and he’s one of my favorite characters.
lots of taglines. The series continues into the contemporary setting under the
author name Jayne Ann Krentz, and I look forward to reading how the new
characters will connect to the Jones family from the first three books.
the Arcane Society series, it’s technically number 3 if you read the books in chronological
order (not publication date). Personally, I read all of the Amanda Quick (historical)
books first, then the Jayne Anne Krentz (contemporary) books, and lastly the (futuristic)
ones by Jayne Castle. For readers who don’t know, these three authors are the
same author, and she uses different names for each time period.
am not paid or compensated in any way, shape, or form for this honest review. I
will not change or alter this review for any reason unless at my discretion.