What the Duke Desires

Starred review from May 13, 2013
Bestseller Jeffries (By Love Unveiled) skillfully blends romance and mystery in this opener for her new Regency romance series. Maximilian Cale thought his older brother, Peter, who was kidnapped as a boy, was dead; the title of Duke of Lyons has thus fallen to Max. A message from investigator Tristan Bonnaud claiming to have found Peter alive sends Max rushing to London to learn more, but when he gets there, Tristan has gone missing too. Tristan’s sister, Lisette, says she hasn’t heard from him in months, and she convinces Max, very much against his will, to let her accompany him to France to find her brother. Traveling as “plain old Mr. Cale” and his brand new wife, the two are quickly challenged by their growing attraction for one another, as well as the need to find Tristan without alerting agents looking to arrest him for a crime committed in his youth. This unusual tale of interlocking mysteries is full of all the intriguing characters, brisk plotting, and witty dialogue that Jeffries’s readers have come to expect.