"Exhilarating historical romantic suspense"

In Regency England, Miss Elenora Lodge had a beautiful estate, a wealthy inheritance, and a fiancée that she loved until her stepfather used her money to invest and lost it all. The new estate owner tosses her off the property and her fiancée dumps her. Elenora travels to London seeking employment as a companion.

Earl Arthur Lancaster seeks a companion to pose as his fiancée so he can go about his business without the shackles of matchmaking matriarchs. He offers Elenora an exorbitant fee, which she gratefully accepts. In his St. Merryn home, Elenora learns that the murder of his cherished great-uncle brought him to town seeking justice. She needs to help him and while facing danger they fall in love with one another, but both fear rejection so they hide their feelings from one another.

Amanda Quick has written an exhilarating historical romantic suspense tale that will keep reader attention from first page to last. Though the intrigue grips the audience, there is almost as much emphasis on the romance through the two wonderful protagonists. THE PAID COMPANION is an action-packed tale with terrific well developed lead characters and an interesting quirky support cast and the combination will send this author quickly to the New York Times best seller list.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted May 18, 2004

Summary

The Earl of St. Merryn needs a woman. His intentions are purely practical—he simply wants someone sensible and suitably lovely to pose as his betrothed for a few weeks among polite society. He has his own agenda to pursue, and a false fiancée will keep the husband-hunters at bay while he goes about his business. The simplest solution is to hire a paid companion.

Finding the right candidate proves more of a challenge than he expected. But when he encounters Miss Elenora Lodge, the fire in her golden eyes sways him to make a generous offer.

Her sorry financial circumstances—and dreams of a life of independence—convince her to accept. But St. Merryn appears to be hiding a secret or two, and things seem oddly amiss in his gloomy London home. Elenora soon discovers that this lark will be a far more dangerous adventure than she'd been led to believe. And the Earl of St. Merryn will find that the meek and mild companion he'd initially envisioned has become a partner in his quest to catch a killer—and an outspoken belle of the ball who stirs a bothersome passion in his practical heart.