"a brilliant gem from the Keeper Shelf"

Some writers learn the craft and their works improve with time. You go back and revisit some of their earlier works and you see flaws, but you smile at the talent so shiny and new. I don't think Anne Stuart ever went through that period. She seems to have stepped into Romance writing with a clear purpose, and had never deviated from the brilliance. This is very clear when you go back and reread her early work for Harlequin Intrigue or Harlequin American Romance, from 15-years or more. Most works that old, already show dating badly, yet Stuart's works not only hold up remarkably well, they simply shine with her clear purpose. Stuart loves writing romance, that sizzle and pop chemistry created by the special woman and man meeting. Few writers really have the grasp of male characters the way she does. And more importantly, few can really give you the badest of bad boy -- the Gamma rogues that make Alpha males step aside when they see them coming, the hero totally outside of laws, and yet makes them utterly compelling. She takes unrepentant killers, madmen, assassins, gunslingers, a court jester, a cult leader, even a cop unable to be a manhunter anymore and a lawyer willing to break the laws to keep his lady safe, and she makes these men outside the norm so breathtakingly mesmerizing all the readers can do it sit back wonder at her magic and enjoy!

Catspaw - Harlequin Intrigue #9 published in 1985 - is one of these dusty gems sitting on my Keeper Shelf. And it's there for a reason. It's also included in Thieves, Spies And Other Lovers (By Request) Anthology. Quite a shame this, along with it's sequel Catspaw 2 Harlequin Intrigue #103 are not reprinted in the same volume. My old HIs are showing yellow pages, so I would appreciate new copies, and fans of Stuart who missed these would scoop them up. Because it's Stuart at her very best.

Ferris Byrd is a self-made woman. Ferris is really Francesca Berdahofski, from a large family outside of Chicago. Her mother was Italian, her father polish, and while there was a lot of love with her nine brothers and sisters, she saw woman having babies too young and having a lifetime of regrets. She did not want to live with the same regrets. So Francesca, now the cool Ferris, is semi- engage to a lawyer running for the Senate. She is the well turned out, perfectly coifed woman of snobby elegance, even though underneath lurks the jeans wearer, binge-cleaning mild slob that enjoy old movies and ice cream. She should have known when she named her grey tomcat, Blackie that it was an omen. She named him after one John Patrick Blackheart, one of the most eligible bachelors in San Francisco. Blackheart -- the name fitting the man in her mind -- is a reformed cat burglar. Now, he runs a security firm that takes on special cases to provide complete security. Ferris is charged with the display of priceless emerald and a charity ball, and she has been instructed to hire Blackheart to see the emeralds are returned to their owner at the end of the night in mint condition.

Ferris is immediately ruffled by Blackheart, who immediately decides Ferris is a finely create veneer he is interesting in cracking. He finds Francesca must more attractive and sets out to provoke her at every turn. Just as she admits she is falling in love with him, the emeralds are stolen and evidence points to Blackheart being unable to resist his old trade.

Ferris/Francesca is a delightful creation. You could easily have disliked her stuffy persona, but not when you get to see Francesca underneath. Blackheart, is pure Stuart Bad Boy, so sexy it will knock your socks off. Their falling in love is just so utterly heart stealing. Seriously, this is Stuart flying high, her talent dazzling, her prose evocative. If you are a Stuart Fan and have missed this diamond, then don't hesitate to lurk around until you find a copy. If you have never read this talented writer, then you cannot have a better introduction. Stuart proves it takes a thief to steal your heart! Just be sure while you are checking around for that used copy to get Catspaw 2. You won't miss the second tale in the series.

Reviewed by DeborahAnne MacGillivray
Posted August 26, 2004