Shadows of the Heart

Shadows of the Heart (1996) Tracy Grant

This is another boinking book that is an excellent mystery.

Set in 1817.

Paul Lescaut is the unrecognized bastard son of a French Marquis, Daniel de Ribard, and his childhood wish was for revenge. Unfortunately, as we see in the prologue, his revenge was not what he was expecting, and his guilt has followed him into adulthood.

When he interrupts the murder of a young woman, he then takes on the responsibility for her safety, however, the loss of her memory makes keeping her safe extremely difficult.

There is so very much I love about this.

First, the heroine is pregnant. I was very curious as to how the romance was going to work out.

Second, the mystery is again very complicated and very good.

Third, I really like Paul. He thinks he’s a terrible person, but he isn’t.

Robert joined the army because he wanted to change the world. I joined because I wanted to go out and smash things.

Also, I love Paul’s interactions with Dugal, the young pick-pocket he ends up working with while on the run. Dugal isn’t just a plot moppet, he’s a central and well-developed character.

“France.” Dugal bounced on the chair arm. “We’re going to see the Froggies.”
Amy folded her hands primly. “You won’t like it there. You won’t understand what people are saying.”
“I don’t understand what they’re saying in England half the time.

I loved this bit, where an English soldier must deal with sheep.

Wilkins stared at the flock. At the other huts they’d searched, the sheep had been grazing farther afield. But the day was closing and the shepherd must have gathered them in to count. Close up, looming in the mist, the animals looked larger than Wilkins would have thought. There was something menacing about their black faces. The rams had nasty-looking horns.

MENACING SHEEP. (Yes, I know that’s actually not unrealistic as sheep are large and any group of large animals can be a threat, but it’s still hilarious.)

I also liked another bit, where the female character is confronted with a dead body.

“Cold she’s growing.” She set the hand down carefully and passed her own over (dead person’s) face, closing the staring eyes. “It’s not decent else.”
“I was afraid to touch her,” Sophie said.
“You needn’t be. She’s naught but dead now. We all come to it in the end.”

I liked both the compassion and acceptance in that. (Of course an older woman living her live in poverty would be unafraid of death, since she’d have dealt with it her entire life.)

I really liked this book, and highly recommend it (even with the boinking).
Rating: 9/10

Published by NYLA

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