The Shadow and the Star

March 1, 2005
Kinsale ( The Prince of Midnight ) makes a sincere attempt to rise above the standard historical romance by introducing an element of oriental mystery. Sadly, the attempt flounders in its own pretension, and the work is most enjoyable where it is most conventional. Kinsale alternates here between two related stories. One, set in Hawaii, follows young Samuel Gerard, whose childhood has been a nightmare of sexual and physical abuse. Given a home by the benevolent Lady Ashland, he soon becomes the protege of enigmatic Japanese butler Dojun, who coaches Sam in a Japanese system of fighting and self-discipline. In the second story, set in 1880s London, the impoverished but resolutely respectable Leda Etoile learns that Samuel, now full-grown and dazzlingly handsome, is behind a baffling series of thefts marring Queen Victoria's jubilee festivities. Unemployed and without funds, Leda accepts a position as Samuel's secretary and gradually succumbs to his charms. Samuel thinks that he has no interest in Leda, but then he also thinks that Dojun's training was disinterested. He's wrong on both counts.

April 15, 2005
First published in 1991, this emotionally charged story with a touch of the exotic is, by her own admission, Kinsale's favorite.

Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.