"Can a woman from the future prevent a murder in the past?"

Private investigator Alexandria "Alex" Drake has followed a cheating husband to abandoned Radborne Manor. While shooting pictures of the husband with his mistress, she sees an apparition in old-fashioned formal clothes walk through a wall. A ghost! She finds the knife carried by the ghost on the ground at her feet. Picking up the knife to use for protection, Alex returns to her car with the pictures she needs. But another man is waiting for her there. When they touch, sparks fly and then everything goes black.

Alex awakens in a strange room with the man from her car looming nearby. He accuses her of murdering his brother. Alex is shocked by the accusation, but even more surprised when she finds out she's now in the past. The year 1817, to be exact. The proof is indisputable, however. Alex is a fish out of water in Regency England.

Christian Radborne, Earl of Strathmore, is still grieving the recent loss of his older brother, Devon. Although the fall resulting in his brother's death was ruled accidental, Christian suspects that there's more to it. When a mysterious, oddly dressed young woman shows up out of the blue, he decides to keep a closer eye on her. How did Alex get his brother's knife? Despite his misgivings about her, Christian can't help but find himself drawn to this most unusual woman. Is Alex a murderess? Or just a temptress?

A murderer is hiding in plain sight in Radborne Manor. Unless Alex helps stop the killer, Christian will be the next victim. Will she be able to find the clues to solve the mystery? She can't return to her time until she does so. Life in Regency times is no bed of roses for those of the servant class. Put to work as a maid, Alex tries to surreptitiously look for any signs of motive for Devon's death. All the while, Alex fights her body's burgeoning desires for Christian. They have no hope for a future. Right?

NOW AND FOREVER is a fast, pleasant read. Christian and Alex make a very compatible couple, once they finally stop fighting temptation. I did find the people of Rathborne Manor to be a little relaxed where Alex was concerned. I sincerely doubt that a maid would get away with the things she did. Despite this, I enjoyed Ms. Templeton's latest time travel mystery. Here's hoping that Devon finds the love he deserves in his next life.

Sensuality: Rated S-ensuous by the publisher. Explicit sex, light bondage; sexually explicit scenes: 9.

Reviewed by Denise Powers
Courtesy Sensual Romance Reviews
Posted December 26, 2003

Summary

Private investigator Alexandria Drake goes to haunted Radborne Manor on the trail of a cheating spouse. What she finds is a new client...in the year eighteen hundred and seventeen!

At first, all Alexandria wants is to go home. If she has to solve Radborne's famous double-murder to do it, so be it. Too bad the man she's trying to protect thinks she's a suspect. As if that weren't bad enough, every time he comes within ten feet of her, she can't think of anything but him.

Christian's determined to find his brother's killer and bring him to justice. But his prime suspect is a green-eyed temptress who he just can't seem to put out of his mind. And taking her to bed only makes him want her more. When love matches passion, Alex is torn. If she doesn't solve the murder, she'll lose him now. And if she does, she'll lose him forever.

Sexual Content: S-ensual. Genre: Time Travel.