Bøger af Amanda Quick

It isn't easy making a living as a lady's companion when one possesses a sharp tongue and an original mind. That's why Emma Greyson has gone through three such positions in six months. Then an extraordinary encounter with the legendary Edison Stokes leads to a secret position as his assistant. Stokes is on a peculiar mission, searching for an anonymous thief who has stolen an ancient book of arcane potions. He suspects his quarry is among the party's guests - and that the villain is looking for an intuitive woman on whom to test a certain elixir. A woman just like Emma...For Emma, the new post brings unexpected passion and chilling danger. But when murder strikes, she realises the awful truth. Unless she and Edison devise a scheme to outwit a merciless killer, she could forever lose the man of her dreams - and maybe her very life....

Leona Hewitt, disguised in men's formal evening clothes, has secretly made her way into Lord Delbridge's private museum to find a relic stolen from her family. But someone else is in the dimly lit gallery on the same errand: a tall, black-cloaked man whose very voice is enough to put her in a trance. Thaddeus Ware, a mesmerist with psychic gifts, is accustomed to fearful reactions from others - women in particular. But Leona shows no trace of hysteria in his presence. A gifted crystal worker, she exerts a rather hypnotic power over the hypnotist himself. And she is determined to keep the crystal they recovered. Thaddeus, on assignment for the Arcane Society, knows the menace Leona is courting by absconding with the crystal. A source of remarkable energy, it holds the potential for great destruction. Lord Delbridge has already killed to acquire it, for it is his key to membership in the elite, shadowy group known as the Third Circle. And, with the help of a ruthless hunter of preternatural skill, dubbed the Midnight Monster by the press, Delbridge intends to find her. With the stolen crystal in their possession, the danger is only beginning...

Plagued by rumours that she poisoned her fiance, Lucinda Bromley manages to live on the fringes of polite society, tending her beloved plants - and occasionally consulting on a murder investigation. For the notorious botanist possesses a unique talent: she can detect almost any type of poison. But the death of a lord has shaken Lucinda to her core. At the murder scene, she picks up traces of a poison containing a very rare species of fern - stolen from her conservatory just last month. To keep her name out of the investigation, and to find the murderer, Lucinda hires fellow Arcane Society member, Caleb Jones. As a nearly overwhelming desire blooms between them, they are drawn into 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...

The Earl of St. Merryn needs a woman. His intentions are purely practical - he simply wants someone sensible and suitably lovely to pose as his betrothed for a few weeks among polite society. He has his own agenda to pursue, and a false fiance will keep the husband-hunters at bay while he goes about his business. The simplest solution is to hire a paid companion. Finding the right candidate proves more of a challenge than he expected. But when he encounters Miss Elenora Lodge, her feisty manner and golden eyes sway him to make a generous offer. Elenora's sorry financial circumstances - and dreams of a life of independence - leave her little choice but to accept. But St. Merryn appears to be hiding a secret or two, and things seem oddly amiss in his gloomy London home. Elenora soon discovers that this lark will be a far more dangerous adventure than she'd been led to believe. And the Earl of St. Merryn will find that the meek and mild companion he'd initially envisioned has become a partner in his quest to catch a killer - and an outspoken belle of the ball who stirs a bothersome passion in his practical heart.

The first kiss occurred in a dimly-lit hallway on the upper floor of Elwin Hastings's grand house. Louisa never saw it coming ...Of course, Anthony Stalbridge couldn't possibly have had romantic intentions. The kiss was an act of desperation, meant to distract the armed guard about to catch the pair in a place they did not belong. After all, Louisa Bryce is no man's idea of an alluring female in her dull maroon gown and gold-rimmed spectacles. The only thing the two interlopers have in common is a passionate interest in the private affairs of Mr. Hastings - a prominent member of Victorian Society whom they both suspect of hiding terrible secrets. Each has a reason for the quest. Anthony's fiancee was said to have thrown herself into the Thames - but Anthony has his own suspicions. Louisa - whose own identity is shrouded in layers of mystery - is convinced Hastings has a connection to a notorious brothel. But bringing Hastings to justice will be more perilous than either anticipates - and their hasty partnership will be more heated than either expects.

From the moment the stranger burst into her antiquities shop in Rome, Lavinia Lake knew he was nothing but trouble. He said he was in pursuit of a killer and swore he was only trying to save her. Yet Lavinia was convinced that Mr. Tobias March was bent instead on destroying her. When the self-professed spy hustled her all the way back to England, Lavinia vowed she would find a way to repay him in full. She never dreamed that Mr. March had in fact been telling the truth, that he had been hired to track down a powerful villain. And just as his investigation was heating up, he found it complicated by the most ungovernable, exasperating - and ever so slightly shady - woman he had ever met. Lavinia most certainly never dreamed they would meet again, forced into partnership under shocking circumstances - or that their fiery disputes would spark a sizzling desire as overwhelming as the danger they faced....

A sparkling Regency mystery by #1 New York Times bestselling author Amanda Quick, this is the perfect escape for the summer . . . Imogen Waterstone has always prided herself on being a thoroughly independent young woman, but now she is faced with an enemy she can't take on alone. She needs a man; one skilled at seduction, yet who possesses an implacable will and nerves of iron to equal her own. That's why she invites Matthias Marshall, infamous Earl of Colchester, to her home. Who better than the legendary explorer to help her lay the perfect trap? Yet in all of her plotting, Imogene never anticipates Colchester's sizzling reaction to their pretence or her own electrifying reaction to him. Neither does she expect that a malevolent threat would emerge from the labyrinth of London - sinister enough to endanger her and Colchester's lives . . .'What fun!' Lisa Gardner'Krentz's fans are always ensured of plenty of wit and romance and heapings of suspense when they dive into her novels!' Romantic Times

The author of the New York Times bestseller The Girl Who Knew Too Muchreturns to Victorian London in a novel of deadly obsession... Calista Langley operates an exclusive ';introduction' agency in Victorian London, catering to respectable ladies and gentlemen who find themselves alone in the world. But now, a dangerously obsessed individual has begun sending her trinkets and gifts suitable only for those in deepest mourninga black mirror, a funeral wreath, a ring set with black jet stone. Each is engraved with her initials. Desperate for help and fearing that the police will be of no assistance, Calista turns to Trent Hastings, a reclusive author of popular crime novels. Believing that Calista may be taking advantage of his lonely sister, who has become one of her clients, Trent doesn't trust her. Scarred by his past, he's learned to keep his emotions at bay, even as an instant attraction threatens his resolve. But as Trent and Calista comb through files of rejected clients in hopes of identifying her tormentor, it becomes clear that the danger may be coming from Calista's own secret pastand that only her death will satisfy the stalker...

The New York Times bestselling author of The Other Lady Vanishespresents a gripping novel of intrigue, murder, and unexpected romance set against the backdrop of Victorian London. The Kern Secretarial Agency provides reliable professional services to its wealthy clientele, and Anne Clifton was one of the finest young women in Ursula Kern's employ. But Miss Clifton has met an untimely endand Ursula is convinced it was not due to natural causes. Bent on justice, Ursula hatches a plan: take Anne's place as stenographer to the reclusive poet Valerie, Lady Fulbrook. There are dark rumors about Lord Fulbrook, and his gloomy mansion in Mapstone Square seems the logical starting point for an undercover investigation. Archaeologist and adventurer Slater Roxton thinks Mrs. Kern is off her head to meddle in such dangerous business. But if this mysterious widowed beauty insists on stirring the pot, Slater intends to remain close by as they venture into the darker side of polite society and a den of iniquity called the Olympus Club. Together they must reveal the identity of a killerand to achieve their goal they may need to reveal their deepest secrets to each other as well...

One does not expect to be kidnapped on a London street in broad daylight. Yet Amity Doncaster barely escapes with her life after meeting a man in a black silk mask who whispers the most vile taunts and threats into her ear. Her quick thinking, and her secret weapon, save her - for now. But the monster known in the press as the Bridegroom has left a trail of female victims in his wake, and will soon be on his feet again. He is unwholesomely obsessed by Amity's scandalous connection to Benedict Stanbridge - and Benedict refuses to let this resourceful, daring woman suffer for her romantic link to him-as tenuous as it may be. For a man and woman so skilled at disappearing, so at home in the exotic reaches of the globe, escape is always an option. But each intends to end the Bridegroom's reign of terror in the heart of the city they love, which means they must also face feelings neither of them can run away from. . . .

The Kern Secretarial Agency provides reliable professional services to its wealthy clientele, and Anne Clifton was one of the finest women in Ursula Kern's employ. But Miss Clifton has met an untimely end - and Ursula is convinced it was not due to natural causes.Archaeologist and adventurer Slater Roxton thinks Mrs. Kern is off her head to meddle in such dangerous business. Nevertheless, he seems sensible enough to Ursula, though she does find herself unnerved by his self-possession and unreadable green-gold eyes...If this mysterious widowed beauty insists on stirring the pot, Slater intends to remain close by as they venture into the dark side of polite society. Together they must reveal the identity of a killer-and to achieve their goal they may need to reveal their deepest secrets to each other as well...