A Fire in Heaven

Rating:
Summary: A KEEPER!
Review: Accused of murdering his wife, Damien Sharpe, once wealthy and respected, was condemned and shunned by society. Now reduced to living as a recluse in a hunting lodge - part of the estates which were once his - a concession from his childhood friend, Rolf Pembroke, who was the present owner of Hyperion Walk, Damien's home. His wife's murder had shattered his world and the life he had known before was no more.

Kira Scottney, part-gypsy part-gentry, returned to her family in England after the death of her mother. On the way to her father's estates, a runaway carriage brought her into Damien's path. Blatantly defying her father to tryst with an outlaw, she was the one person who steadfastly believed in Damien's innocence and sought ways to clear his name and bring him back to society.

It doesn't take two peas to deduce the identity of the real murderer and the motive behind the crime.

What makes wonderful reading is Kira's unwavering faith in Damien (this is not story where the hero and heroine fight over misunderstandings or jealousy) but from the beginning, Kira and Damien struggle to have their love accepted. The one drawback is that for all the harm the villain caused Damien, the perpetrator got off too lightly without the humiliation he deserved.

Rating:
Summary: An original and fascinating romance
Review: In 1884, eighteen year old circus performer, Kira Sergenkov is suddenly summoned by her English aristocratic father, Lord Scottney who she has never met. Because of a death bed promise made to her mother, Kira travels to England to see her aristocratic father, who pleads with her to stay for a year in the hope that she might marry an aristocrat so that a legitimate heir can be born and the family line will continue. If, at the end of the year, she is unhappy, he will fund a circus for her to manage back in America. Seeing the rainbow at the end of the year, a reluctant Kira accepts the offer.

Kira meets Damien Sharpe, a nobleman who is thought to have gotten away with killing his wife. In spite of the overwhelming circumstantial evidence agaist him and his uncouth manner, she believes him to be innocent and the pair falls in love. Kira begins to help Damien find the evidence that will prove his innocence. However, if Kira is correct in trusting her beloved, than someone close to him has to be the killer and that individual would never sit idly by and let proof of his guilt surface.

This novel is an interesting blending of the Victorian romance with elements of a who-done-it. Even though readers will know the killer's identity rather early in the story, they will find much pleasure with the historical romance of the characters and the mystery of finding evidence to identify the true killer. Though not for pure mystery aficionados, A FIRE IN HEAVEN is a book that fans of romantic suspense and historical romance will fully enjoy.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: The novel was disjointed and characters are out of joint
Review: Since a nice synopsis of this book already exist at the web site, I will skip this. The problems with the book, in my opinion is in the character of the heroine. She is a circus performer and daughter of a gypsy with prediliction for 1990's new age philosophy and mother earth religion. The character is just out of step with the setting. She is also suprisingly helpless for someone with such a non-traditional upbringing. The sterotypical damaged hero is not badly written. The sex scenes which I believe are essential to this type of story are dececntly done. The plot itself is lacking,even if one suspends one's belief this story not credible.