Is an enjoyable read with the kidnapping plot adding spice to the story. As Barnaby and Penelope unravel the mystery of the missing children, they uncover a shocking trail that leads to the upper echelons. However, the story wouldn't work well if she were constantly under the surveillance of her parents, so it's an acceptable fudge of historicity to further the plot. New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens knows Regency London, and outside the exclusive enclave in which the aristocracy lived in wealth and comfort, lay another world. The point of view sometimes changes unexpectedly mid-text, which can be a bit confusing, and the historical detail is suspect in that our heroine seems to be able to gad about all over the place without anyone noticing she's unchaperoned. There's a secondary romance between a policeman and his informant which is also sweet and well-written and an interesting insight into life for the middle classes and working classes in Regency London.Īll the characters in Where the Heart Leads are well drawn, ranging from the main characters to the dying mother of a young boy, and Laurens' pacing is always excellent.

Their attraction to each other becomes apparent, but Penelope is dead set against marriage Barnaby has to use all his guile and his understanding of her nature to try to change her mind. She goes to Barnaby and persuades him to help her to find the boys, and thus starts this enjoyable plot.īarnaby assumes that he can 'handle' Penelope, but she soon confounds his ideas and expectations and he ends up working alongside her, sometimes following in her wake. She knows she doesn't have the skills herself, although she has plenty of courage and energy, but she knows that Barnaby Adair, third son of an Earl, is known for investigating crimes and having links with the It upon herself to investigate the disappearance of the boys. Penelope Ashford, the administrator of the Foundling Home and the daughter of a Viscount, takes More time in the book is actually given to the murder/kidnapping story, where young orphan boys are kidnapped before being taken to a Foundling Home in order to be trained as Burglar's Boys. Is a really enjoyable story with two major threads: a major and a minor romance and a murder/kidnapping mystery with an unusual mix of characters from different social levels in society. Where the Heart Leads: From the Casebook of Barnaby Adair (Cynster Novels) Where the Heart Leads: From the Casebook of Barnaby Adair (Cynster Novels). But as they unravel the mystery of the missing orphans, they uncover a trail leading to the upper echelons of society and a ruthless and clever criminal adept at pulling strings who, becoming aware of them and their efforts, is only too ready to destroy all they hold dear, including their newfound understanding of the intrigues of the human heart.Book review: Stephanie Laurens' *Where the Heart Leads: From the Casebook of Barnaby Adair (Cynster Novels)*Įast meets West across time and tradition as three young American women and their Indian immigrant mothers take first steps toward true sisterhood, shattering secrets and sharing joy and tears in Stephanie Laurens' And as he's in dire need of an excuse to avoid said insipid misses, he accepts her challenge, never dreaming she and it will consume his every waking hour.Įnlisting the aid of Inspector Basil Stokes of the fledgling Scotland Yard, they infiltrate the streets of London's notorious East End. Her bold beauty and undeniable brains make a striking contrast to the usual insipid ton misses.

Throwing caution to the wind, defying every rule for unmarried ladies, she appears on his doorstep late one night determined to recruit his talents.īarnaby is intrigued-both by her problem and her. Despite his skills-or perhaps because of them-he makes Penelope distinctly uncomfortable, but the stakes are too grave. His pedigree, relentless intelligence, and discretion make him a deadly avenger in an elegant guise. Handsome scion of a noble house, Adair has made a name for himself in certain circles where his powers of observation and deduction have seen him solve several serious and unsavory crimes within the ton.

Desperate, Penelope turns to the one man she knows who might help her-Barnaby Adair. Yet Penelope is anything but a pretty face in a satin gown-forceful, willful, and blunt to a fault, she has for years devoted her considerable energy and intelligence to caring for the forgotten orphans of London's sooty and seamier streets.īut now her charges are mysteriously disappearing. Penelope Ashford, Portia Cynster's younger sister, has grown up with every advantage-wealth, position, and beauty. and Laurens pulls back the curtain that has hidden it from us-until now. But outside that glittering circle lay another world. especially the exclusive enclave of luxury in which the aristocracy lived in wealth and comfort. New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens knows the world of Regency London.

Where the heart leads stephanie laurens