The Untamed Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley Series: Highland Pleasures #5.5
Published by berkley, InterMix on September 10, 2013
Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Victorian Romance
Pages: 194
Format: eBook
Source: Advance Reader Copy
Goodreads
A WOMAN OF BREEDING MEETS A MAN OF NO STANDING…
To redeem her family’s disgraced name, Lady Louisa Scranton has decided to acquire a proper husband. He needs to be a man of fortune and highly respectable in order to restore both her family's lost wealth and reputation. She enters the Marriage Mart with all flags flying, determined to find the right bachelor.
But Louisa’s hopes are dashed when the Bishop of Hargate drops dead at her feet—and she is shockingly accused of murder! Soon, Louisa’s so-called friends begin shunning her, because the company of a suspected killer is never desirable in polite society.
The problem comes to the ears of Detective Inspector Lloyd Fellows, by-blow of the decadent Scottish Mackenzie family and an inspector for Scotland Yard. He has shared two passionate kisses with Lady Louisa–and vows to clear her name. For not only does he know she’s innocent, he recognizes he’s falling for the lovely lady.
Fellows is Louisa's only hope of restoring her family's honor—and it is he alone who intrigues Louisa in a way that may be even more scandalous than murder…
* Includes a preview of the upcoming novel, “THE WICKED DEEDS OF DANIEL MACKENZIE”
This is the long-awaited story of Inspector Fellows and Lady Louisa, and I loved it!
Lady Louisa is at a garden party when she is encouraged by her hostess (who knows she needs to marry well) to meet alone with the Bishop of Hargate. When Louisa does so, the bishop drops dead at her feet! This makes Louisa the topic of gossip. . .and the prime suspect.
Luck is on her side, however, when Chief Inspector Fellows is requested to handle the case because he is the only person on earth who believes Louisa. Fellows and Louisa have shared a couple of kisses in previous books, and while both know that nothing can come of those kisses, neither can let go of the memory. This complicates his case and his life much more than he ever expects.
If you’ve followed the series, you know that Lloyd Fellows is the illegitimate son of the late Duke. He may not use the Mackenzie name, but the Mackenzie brothers have embraced him without hesitation. Which helps him out by opening doors that might otherwise be closed to a simple Inspector. Fellows is now privy to the upper echelons of the ton. We even get to see him in a kilt.
Fellows wants nothing more than to protect Louisa and to clear her name, but none of the evidence points to anyone else. The romance and the mystery both kept me on the edge of my seat, and as I strongly recommend this series, I’d start at the beginning.
I love when I can find a novella that packs a lot into a short amount of pages and Jennifer Ashley never fails to deliver.
***ARC courtesy of Berkley
I keep hearing so much about this series! I need to get started!