In 2005, Amanda Quick has released two new books instead of just one. Wait Until Midnight was the first released. It was followed by Lie by Moonlight a few months later. I was happy to pick up the second book this year because I do enjoy Quick’s books.

Concordia Glade had accepted a job as a tutor for four orphaned teenage girls at Aldwick Castle. Things didn’t seem right about the situation to Concordia or the girls. They had never seen the person that took them there, many of the servants were armed and seemed to be guards instead and the previous tutor disappeared mysteriously. Concordia decided she needed to get the girls out of there. They acted on their plan one night and were helped by Ambrose Wells. He was a private inquiry agent that was at the castle because of a connection to a case he was investigating. Ambrose felt that Concordia and the girls were in trouble and needed his protection. He took them back to London and started to work on learning why the girls had been at the castle. Concordia worked with him to figure out what had been going on at Aldwick Castle.

Lie by Moonlight is a historical romantic suspense book like all the books that Amanda Quick has written. It was never said what year it was, though it did say at the beginning that it was late in the reign of Queen Victoria. That is more of an indication to when the book was set than has been in most of her other books. Queen Victoria was also mentioned in Wait Until Dark, so I’m thinking these two books were set some what close to each other in time. Most of this book took place in London and aspects of life in London society were shared throughout the book. A few modern devices for the time, like indoor plumbing, were included in the book. All of Quick’s books have taken place mostly somewhere in England, though not all in the same time frame. I’ve always thought it was interesting to read about life in the different time periods in England.

Ambrose and Concordia ended up spending a lot of time together after they met. They were attracted to each other but both seemed to be fighting the attraction for a while. They took the time to develop a friendship instead of jumping straight into bed. The relationship was important, but the romance wasn’t the main focus of the book. They were both wary about sharing their feelings with each other so that did lead to a few misunderstandings. They were some sexual situations and a few love scenes between them in the book. The scenes were descriptive, but not explicit. Quick use to include more of this type of scene in her books. They were much more graphic and even explicit in her earlier books. She has started to make the mystery parts of her books stronger and more important instead. Anyone who found the sex scenes too descriptive in other Quick books may not feel the same way about this book. Some things related to the romance in the book was predictable. That didn’t bother me or make me enjoy the book any less.

Ambrose was an inquiry agent and his work on a case led him to meeting Concordia and her students. Right after arriving at her job, Concordia believed that something wasn’t right with the situation. She and the girls were in the middle of their escape plan when they were first shown when the second chapter started. Things that had happened while Concordia was at the castle were shared when she told Ambrose about what she had observed. Ambrose believed that Concordia and the girls were in danger so he provided them a safe place to stay. He started doing some investigating and discovered that something definitely had been going on at the castle. Someone had plans for the girls. Concordia assisted Ambrose with the investigation. They worked very well together. I felt that the mystery was the main focus of Lie by Moonlight. There were some suspenseful scenes in the book that kept me guessing about what was going on. The mystery and suspense could have been a bit stronger.

Concordia was an intelligent, independent, strong woman much like the other main female characters created by Quick. Concordia wasn’t focused on finding a husband like the main female characters in many other historical books. Concordia was a very likeable character. I also liked Ambrose. He listened to her ideas about the investigation and took them seriously. He didn’t look down on her just because she was a woman. He listened to the girls as well and didn’t brush off their concerns about certain things just because they were young women. He and Concordia both had some secrets in their past. The girls, Hannah, Phoebe, Edwina, and Theodora were around for much of the book. The girls, all under 17, had gone though some tough times before they all ended up at the castle together. They were all intelligent and independent. They considered Concordia a role model. The girls were important to the plot as well, they just weren’t as developed as Ambrose and Concordia. There were a few other characters featured in the book, but none of them were around long enough to be very developed.

Amanda Quick is the pen name that author Jayne Ann Krentz uses for the historical books she writes. She uses her own name for the contemporary romantic suspense books. The contemporary and historical books do have some things in common. Both blend mystery and romance and feature strong, independent female characters. Her contemporary books also have more of a focus on mystery than the romance. Since Krentz and Quick are actually the same author, people that enjoy the books of one may also enjoy books by the other. She also writes futuristic romantic suspense books as Jayne Castle.

I really enjoyed Lie by Moonlight. I thought it was very entertaining. People that like historical romantic suspense books should check this one out. It is a must read book for Amanda Quick’s fans.

Amanda Quick Book Reviews
Deception ~ Don't Look Back ~ Late for the Wedding ~ The Paid Companion ~ Wait Until Midnight ~


Recommended: Yes