Hawk’s father intends to resume his family name (he changed his name to his wife’s family name when they married). He is uncaring that Slade will be seizing the manor house and farm when the loan is not repaid and angry that no fortune comes with the title. The late Lord Deveril had left his entire fortune to his fiancée; it is being held in trust until she turns twenty-one.

His father’s suggestion is that Hawk marry the “poxy chit.”

Although the will seems legitimate, Hawk readily accepts his father’s conviction that the heiress, Clarissa Greystone, must have done something underhanded. There is the additional factor that Deveril was murdered. Hawk comes to the conclusion that this is all highly suspicious and cannot be aboveboard; Clarissa clearly bears some culpability for both the murder and the fraudulent will. He is resolved to track down this villainess, establish her guilt, retrieve the stolen fortune, and save his home from Slade’s clutches.

Clarissa Greystone had been forced by her parents into a betrothal with the despicable Lord Deveril. She has remained at school even though at age 20 she is too old to be a student. When she escorts several younger girls to view a military parade, she encounters the handsome Major Hawkinville who saves them from a near-riot. Hawk is surprised by Clarissa: this is no designing femme fatale. She is rather plain, petite, and dressed unbecomingly. Nevertheless, he remains convinced that she was instrumental in Deveril’s death and the writing of the will.

With the assistance of two of his childhood friends, who along with him were known as the Three Georges, and their wives, Hawk aggressively pursues Clarissa. He gradually learns the details of her betrothal to Lord Deveril but becomes even more convinced that she had some part in Deveril’s murder. Her artlessness and lively personality begin to erode his determination to bring her to justice. He starts to think instead about regaining the fortune through marriage. The problem is that Clarissa is unaware he will eventually succeed to Lord Deveril’s title.

The four-star recommendation I’ve given this book is a reflection of the really engaging heroine. I wish I could be as enthusiastic about the hero. Yes, Hawk’s another of those ubiquitous tortured heroes, but that’s not the reason I’m annoyed. What bothers me is that he jumps to the wholly unwarranted conclusion that the heroine’s a hardened criminal who murdered a thoroughly despicable character then forged the will found in a locked drawer that left all his loot to her when it should have gone to his father who is himself pretty despicable. This is the basis for a whopping Big Misunderstanding.

Now let’s evaluate this situation. Clarissa’s a young woman who’s still residing at school for young ladies. We’re not talking about an Amazon who’s spent years perfecting her criminal talents. And what’s his source of information? His father, who’s mortgaged his house to another thoroughly despicable character just so he can succeed to the murder victim’s title and resume his family name and deeply resents that this “scheming chit” is getting the money. Since Hawk has little respect for his father or his father’s blind determination to obtain the Deveril title regardless of the consequences to his house or the tenants and is furious that his father’s risked the home he loves so much, you’d expect that he might be a little less eager to swallow his father’s charges hook, line, and sinker. But, no, the heiress has got to be the conniving harpy his father has portrayed. Even after he meets Clarissa and has ample opportunity to reevaluate his opinion, he’s still stuck in this stubborn mind-set. I want my heroes to be a little clearer in their thinking processes than this.

Obviously, the author has created this situation in order to create conflict, but it reflects badly on her hero. He starts to come across as bullheaded and vindictive - not two traits that are commonly associated with a hero.

I am recommending The Devil’s Heiress because it’s a well written story with a charming heroine, but I want to caution readers who are unfamiliar with the author’s celebrated Rogues series. This is not the best title for the uninitiated to begin. Although Hawk himself is not a member of the Company of Rogues, The Devil’s Heiress is another installment in the series. Readers may find themselves lost if they have no familiarity with earlier books, particularly The Unwilling Bride, the novel introducing Clarissa and the late unlamented Lord Deveril. Furthermore, Hawk is the third of the three Georges whose stories are told in “Demon’s Mistress” in the anthology In Praise of Younger Men and in The Dragon’s Bride.

Jo Beverley is a highly successful romance author with an impressive list of titles, some of which are now being reprinted; readers who have read previous books in the series will consider this a must-read.

--Lesley Dunlap