cover image Deliciously Wicked

Deliciously Wicked

Robyn DeHart, . . Avon, $5.99 (295pp) ISBN 978-0-06-112752-6

Heiress Meg Piddington has an unladylike desire—for 1890s London—to help run her family's chocolate factory. While her father recovers from an injury, she pitches in to near-disastrous effect when she gets mysteriously locked in a storage room after hours with the new employee, handsome Gareth Mandeville. Although they escape without being detected, Meg faces a dilemma when Gareth is accused of a theft for which she alone can provide an alibi—but only at the cost of her reputation. She and her friends in the Ladies' Amateur Sleuth Society, introduced in DeHart's A Study in Scandal , set out to solve the crime. Trying to guard the secret of his own background as an impoverished viscount, Gareth insists on serving as Meg's protector as they unravel the clues; stubbornly independent, Meg resists his efforts but can't quiet the attraction sizzling between them. DeHart handles her romance well, but the anemic mystery comes to very little. An entirely predictable villain and some childish behavior from the heroine hinder the suspense and the sensuality, but those in search of a light Regency diversion may enjoy DeHart's breezy style. (Oct.)