Alanna

In this somewhat chaotic historical romantic thriller, second in the When Hearts Dare series (after Celine), Roth takes readers on a whirlwind journey from 1850s San Francisco through Boston to England and beyond. Wolf has spent 30 years trying to find the man who murdered his mother. This mission has been his driving force and reason for existence, funded by his work as a tracker of missing persons. The enigmatic, flirtatious Alanna Malone is a welcome distraction, though her parents—who want her to marry up—are distressed by their affair. However, once Wolf lets Alanna in, he can’t seem to shake her; she appears wherever he goes, including his dreams. There’s an excess of interconnected plot points and convenient coincidences, and what begins as a story with a severe identity crisis resolves itself a little too conveniently, albeit with a delicious finish. Agent: Jill Marsal, Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. (Nov.)