Rating: PG-13

Summary:

“Marylebone,” the sequel to best-selling “Dunnottar,” flits back and forth between London and the Scottish highlands during the regency era. Handsome young James Keith, wanting to remain anonymous, visits "the clubs" in London, where he encounters Caroline Kent, who has just returned from Vienna after studying the piano. Caroline is immediately enraptured by the mysterious Scotsman, but he seems to disappear every time she gets close to finding him. She calls on their mutual friend, the Duke of Hamilton, to help her locate him. Keith, who is using the alias Robert Paterson, swears Hamilton to secrecy, as he is on a personal quest to locate the Scottish regalia, which was hidden byt the Keith clan at Dunnottar Castle more than one hundred years earlier. Complete with two mysteries (who is the mysterious Scot and where is the regalia), throw in a famous person (Walter Scott), a secret which Caroline's father, the Earl of Kent, has kept buried almost as long, a surprise about the "mad King George," and you have the makings of a read that will delight you for a long time to come.

Excerpt:

“Tell him he must wait. I must finish the fitting of my dress first,” she instructed Forrester.

Forrester promptly delivered the message to the duke, offering him a glass of brandy, which he was always known to accept a little too willingly.

After the dress was fitted and the proper adjustments arranged, Caroline decided she had made her caller wait sufficiently.

As she made her entrance, the Duke of Lennox dropped his glass, spilling the few sips which remained, at the sight of her. She had been gone scarce a year, yet she had blossomed into the most beautiful young woman he had ever laid eyes on. He was determined that he would pursue her until he had made her his conquest. Little did he know how much Caroline despised him.

Caroline could not help herself. Before she could stop herself, she said snidely, “Is the glass as slippery as my lord himself?”

One of the things the Duke of Lennox had always admired about Caroline was that she spoke exactly as she thought, not just framing her words as she thought her listeners mist wish her to speak. It made a conversation with her always so much more of a challenge. He was pleased to learn that she had not lost this art while she was abroad.

The duke was at a loss for words, which was as uncommon for him as it was for Caroline. He was not known for his silence, although often the thoughtlessness of his speech was quite widely proclaimed. After a considerable period of silence, he finally spoke.

“It has been told that a voucher from Almack’s has been issued you. Knowing that this is the first day of your return, I thought perchance you might desire an escort for the occasion. If you would do me the honor, I would be most delighted to have you at my side.”

Acknowledging that it would indeed be better to go with even the Duke of Lennox than alone, she agreed, but felt that she was compromising greatly by accepting his offer.

[end excerpt]

Reviews:

"I greatly enjoyed the re-telling and historical novel approach of the first book - Dunnottar. It was splended how Smith incorporated a vast bank of history into this story. The second...had some insight of the times and was a worthy read." -- S. R. Trellan

"'Marylebone' is going to make you smile, and it's also pretty likely to bring tears to your eyes in some places. It's a very different book than its prequel, 'Dunnottar,' but it is every bit as well worth reading!" -- N. Osier, Author

About the Author

Janet Elaine Smith became known as a magazine writer but her true love was her novels. “Dunnottar” was her first novel and it soon became the No. 1 Bestselling Scottish novel on Amazon for almost three months. Smith moved from Grand Forks, North Dakota after her husband of forty-two years, Ivan, died to northeast Wisconsin. They spent nine years as missionaries in Venezuela then ran a charitable "Helps" mission in Grand Forks for over thirty-five years. “Dunnottar,” like some of her other novels, is based on her genealogical searches. She has published seventeen additional novels and says she is living her life's dream.