December 15, 2003
Charlotte Kent is so used to trying to reform criminals that she can't resist helping Harrison Payne when she stumbles across him robbing her hostess' jewelry box. She assumes that the thief is the notorious Dark Shadow, and her experiences induce her to help him escape capture by offering herself as his hostage. Suddenly famous, Charlotte tries to use her brush with the Dark Shadow to interest wealthy members of society in funding her refuge home in London, but after being introduced to Harrison at a society affair, Charlotte suddenly realizes just who the Dark Shadow really is. When Charlotte's past returns to haunt her, she comes to Harrison hoping to blackmail him into helping her, only to find him offering her a chance at love, something she never expected. A quietly courageous heroine meets a hero who sees beneath her plain, damaged exterior to the genuine beauty she truly is, in another exquisite love story from Monk, an author skilled at fashioning history and passion into beautifully compelling romances.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)