"The Fake Popinjay"

Brady James, Earl of Singleton, left the party early. As far as he was concerned, it was just another boring party of the ton. He decided to walk home. He was accosted by three well-dressed masked men and beaten severely. He was taken to the Thames, a burlap bag thrown over his head attached to chains; he realized he was going to be thrown in the river to die. He fought to stay conscious and was able to retrieve a small knife he had hidden in his clothing and cut away the bag. He barely made it to the shore, find a cab and make it home. He was angry and determined to find the three men. They had called him nosey and that gave him a hint of what was going on. He faked his own funeral to give him the freedom to find his would-be murderers.

Brady's good friend, Kipp, rescues Regina Bliss from the London streets. She refuses to tell anyone how she came to be there but Brady who always loves a mystery, starts questioning acquaintances to find out whom she really is. He is sure that his beating is related to the mystery of Regina. She does tell him part of her story - that she is an actress and that three men have murdered her family.

Brady has a plan. He will appear as the next Earl of Singleton. Regina who may be able to recognize the three men will pose as his ward. He allows his hair to grow longer, acquires some very colorful clothing and Regina teaches him the rudiments of acting the fop. He no longer looks like himself. They are ready to confront the ton during the little season. Brady has to constantly remind himself that Regina is his ward as his attraction grows. His friends, Kipp and Bram are on hand to help. They uncover the bad guys as well as learn a lot about themselves in the process.

I always have a difficult time figuring out how your acquaintances do not recognize you after your have altered your appearance. Aside from that little problem, THEN COMES MARRIAGE is a fun and light-hearted book with two wonderful characters in the lead roles. The story moves along at an excellent pace supported by Brady's friends from Kasey Michaels' previous books, INDISCREET and SOMEONE TO LOVE. Brady is a distinguished member of the ton and finds it difficult to get in the role of playing a popinjay but with help from his actor friends, he does a credible job. Regina is an actress, mischievous and easy to like. THEN COMES MARRIAGE is another feather in the cap of the talented Ms. Michaels.

Reviewed by Marilyn Heyman
Posted March 3, 2002