February 15, 1990
Priscilla is a Shirley Temple-type moppet with a "fierce an' 'vincible guard dog," Wolfgang (he's actually a spaniel). Her mother, Susan, the disgraced widow of a military suicide, is trying to stave off eviction. Enter Valentine Montclair, whose uncle is trying to oust the poor widow from her house, and who is himself a murderer's target. These two would-be antagonists try to ferret out a mystery in which the notorious "Masterpiece Gang" is involved. If this sounds like a mishmash, it is. There is enough here for at least two stories, and there are too many characters, most of them far more interesting than the hero and heroine. Despite all the oohings and aahings, the childish prattle, and the incomprehensible English of one of the characters, the book is enjoyable. Certainly it is not Veryan's best, but her historical romances (the Sanguinet series) are so much better than most. Regency mysteries seem to be the genre of the 1990s. Recommended.-- Paula M. Zieselman, Debevoise & Plimpton Lib., New York
Copyright 1990 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.