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Thornton #2
The Theft
Lady Noelle Bromleigh is determined to unravel the mystery shrouding her birth. She coaxes information from her loving adoptive parents -- information on the unscrupulous Franco Baricci, who seduced and abandoned her mother. But knowledge alone is not enough, for Noelle can't rest until she makes peace with her past. Despite the danger Baricci represents, she travels to London to investigate him. There, she finds both peril and excitement greater than she ever imagined when she meets an enigmatic but seductive stranger with a dark mission.
Ashford Thornton, the earl of Tremlett, is hot on the trail of the art thief Baricci, and he has good reason to suspect that lovely Noelle could be involved. She may seem an innocent, but her interest in Baricci is highly suspect. And even if Noelle isn't Baricci's accomplice, Ashford cannot afford to let her steal his heart. For Baricci is not the only man with secrets -- and the one Ashford is hiding could endanger the woman he is fast coming to love.
432 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 1998
5 people are currently reading
163 people want to read
About the author
Andrea Kane
48 books834 followersComing in March 2019 from Andrea Kane: DEAD IN A WEEK.
Andrea Kane is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of twenty-nine novels, including fifteen psychological thrillers and fourteen historical romantic suspense titles. With her signature style, Kane creates unforgettable characters and confronts them with life-threatening danger. As a master of suspense, she weaves them into exciting, carefully-researched stories, pushing them to the edge—and keeping her readers up all night.
Kane’s first contemporary suspense thriller, Run for Your Life, became an instant New York Times bestseller. She followed with a string of bestselling psychological thrillers including No Way Out, Twisted, and Drawn in Blood.
Her latest in the highly successful Forensic Instincts series, Dead in a Week, adds the Zermatt Group into the mix—a covert team of former military and spy agency operatives. With a week to save a young woman from ruthless kidnappers, this globe-spanning chase, from the beerhalls of Germany, to the tech gardens of California, to the skyscrapers of China, and finally the farmlands of Croatia will keep readers guessing until the very end. The first showcase of Forensic Instincts’ talents came with the New York Times bestseller, The Girl Who Disappeared Twice, followed by The Line Between Here and Gone, The Stranger You Know, The Silence that Speaks, The Murder That Never Was, and A Face to Die For.
Kane’s beloved historical romantic suspense novels include My Heart’s Desire, Samantha, Echoes in the Mist, and Wishes in the Wind.
With a worldwide following of passionate readers, her books have been published in more than twenty languages.
Kane lives in New Jersey with her husband and family. She’s an avid crossword puzzle solver and a diehard Yankees fan. Otherwise, she’s either writing or playing with her Pomeranian, Mischief, who does his best to keep her from writing.
Andrea Kane is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of twenty-nine novels, including fifteen psychological thrillers and fourteen historical romantic suspense titles. With her signature style, Kane creates unforgettable characters and confronts them with life-threatening danger. As a master of suspense, she weaves them into exciting, carefully-researched stories, pushing them to the edge—and keeping her readers up all night.
Kane’s first contemporary suspense thriller, Run for Your Life, became an instant New York Times bestseller. She followed with a string of bestselling psychological thrillers including No Way Out, Twisted, and Drawn in Blood.
Her latest in the highly successful Forensic Instincts series, Dead in a Week, adds the Zermatt Group into the mix—a covert team of former military and spy agency operatives. With a week to save a young woman from ruthless kidnappers, this globe-spanning chase, from the beerhalls of Germany, to the tech gardens of California, to the skyscrapers of China, and finally the farmlands of Croatia will keep readers guessing until the very end. The first showcase of Forensic Instincts’ talents came with the New York Times bestseller, The Girl Who Disappeared Twice, followed by The Line Between Here and Gone, The Stranger You Know, The Silence that Speaks, The Murder That Never Was, and A Face to Die For.
Kane’s beloved historical romantic suspense novels include My Heart’s Desire, Samantha, Echoes in the Mist, and Wishes in the Wind.
With a worldwide following of passionate readers, her books have been published in more than twenty languages.
Kane lives in New Jersey with her husband and family. She’s an avid crossword puzzle solver and a diehard Yankees fan. Otherwise, she’s either writing or playing with her Pomeranian, Mischief, who does his best to keep her from writing.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 11, 2008
A face-paced story set in Victorian England of theft, intrigue and murder. Very entertaining.
I gave it a "4" because I found the heroine a little annoying. Only eighteen, she has the understanding of a thirty-year old, and is so reckless as to be stupid. And her family and the hero think her behavior is charming. Also makes me wonder about the hero's intelligence.
I gave it a "4" because I found the heroine a little annoying. Only eighteen, she has the understanding of a thirty-year old, and is so reckless as to be stupid. And her family and the hero think her behavior is charming. Also makes me wonder about the hero's intelligence.
May 10, 2018
Lady Noelle Bromleigh knows the circumstances surrounding her birth, what she doesn't know is her sire's identity. So she asks her adoptive father, her uncle, Eric Bromleigh to investigate, just to know the whole truth. But when she's presented with the fruits of said investigation on her eighteenth birthday, her curiosity gets the better of her, and she travels to London to catch a glimpse of her sire, and on the way meets her destiny...
The better part of this story was pretty good. Though I sometimes wished someone would slap the heroine silly, she quickly "mended her ways" thanks to the hero's influence, and she ended the story a rather mature young woman. The hero was once more a typical AK creation; tall, dark, handsome, intense, confident and using the requisite nickname for the heroine.
While the romance left me rather cold (it happened rather swiftly and I didn't really believe it), the best part of this plot was the suspense—especially once murder came into play.
Unfortunately the real villain was rather blatantly revealed (to the reader, not the protagonists) somewhere in the middle, but I was still looking forward to how the case would be solved.
Sadly, the tempo dropped tremendously right at the climax of the story as scenes dragged on for too long and, instead of creating tension and anticipation, the whole thing bordered on boring as I waited for the axe to finally fall.
Instead, it merely brought down the rating.
The better part of this story was pretty good. Though I sometimes wished someone would slap the heroine silly, she quickly "mended her ways" thanks to the hero's influence, and she ended the story a rather mature young woman. The hero was once more a typical AK creation; tall, dark, handsome, intense, confident and using the requisite nickname for the heroine.
While the romance left me rather cold (it happened rather swiftly and I didn't really believe it), the best part of this plot was the suspense—especially once murder came into play.
Unfortunately the real villain was rather blatantly revealed (to the reader, not the protagonists) somewhere in the middle, but I was still looking forward to how the case would be solved.
Sadly, the tempo dropped tremendously right at the climax of the story as scenes dragged on for too long and, instead of creating tension and anticipation, the whole thing bordered on boring as I waited for the axe to finally fall.
Instead, it merely brought down the rating.
December 30, 2024
Liked, not as much as the first one but still good. They both had a good bit of spunk which was great and Chloe was an awesome character.
January 22, 2018
Very entertaining characters!
February 9, 2016
I discovered the Thornton series after reading Yuletide Treasure. I couldn't quite figure out how The Last Duke was related to Yuletide Treasure but as it turns out this book connects them all together.
My favorite of the three stories will always be Yuletide Treasure but I did like this one more than The Last Duke.
Lady Noelle is all grown up, she was a child in Yuletide Treasure, and she wants to know who her biological father is. Her adoptive father and uncle is reluctant but knows if he doesn't help Noelle find answers she'll try for them on her own and likely get herself into trouble. How well he knows her because even with his help, trouble finds Noelle.
Ashford Thornton is the show of Pierce Thornton and has picked up his role as the Tin Cup Bandit after his father's retirement, only Ashford prefers paintings. And his day job is tracking down art thieves and at the top of his list is Baricci who just happens to be Noelle's biological father. What a tangled web!
Ashford and Noelle discover love at first sight to be an actual thing but Ashford's job and Noelle's dangerous sire stand in their way. Until some of the danger in their lives is resolved there is no way they can be together.
I liked this volume better than the first simply because there was more intrigue and adventure. I loved seeing Pierce and Daphne together with their many children as well as Eric and Brigitte.
Noelle is very headstrong and it gets her into trouble but she's also really smart, smart enough to figure out the secrets around her and know exactly what her duplicitous biological father is after. Ashford realizes quickly that he'll have a lifetime of work ahead of him just to stay one step in front of Noelle and her brain but he's willing.
I loved that Kane's female characters aren't simpering fools. They are smart women who play a part but unravel any man's secrets quickly and with little help.
Kane is a good writer and while her books, so far, don't make me want to grab everyone I find; her books are great go to stories when you just need something quick to read.
My favorite of the three stories will always be Yuletide Treasure but I did like this one more than The Last Duke.
Lady Noelle is all grown up, she was a child in Yuletide Treasure, and she wants to know who her biological father is. Her adoptive father and uncle is reluctant but knows if he doesn't help Noelle find answers she'll try for them on her own and likely get herself into trouble. How well he knows her because even with his help, trouble finds Noelle.
Ashford Thornton is the show of Pierce Thornton and has picked up his role as the Tin Cup Bandit after his father's retirement, only Ashford prefers paintings. And his day job is tracking down art thieves and at the top of his list is Baricci who just happens to be Noelle's biological father. What a tangled web!
Ashford and Noelle discover love at first sight to be an actual thing but Ashford's job and Noelle's dangerous sire stand in their way. Until some of the danger in their lives is resolved there is no way they can be together.
I liked this volume better than the first simply because there was more intrigue and adventure. I loved seeing Pierce and Daphne together with their many children as well as Eric and Brigitte.
Noelle is very headstrong and it gets her into trouble but she's also really smart, smart enough to figure out the secrets around her and know exactly what her duplicitous biological father is after. Ashford realizes quickly that he'll have a lifetime of work ahead of him just to stay one step in front of Noelle and her brain but he's willing.
I loved that Kane's female characters aren't simpering fools. They are smart women who play a part but unravel any man's secrets quickly and with little help.
Kane is a good writer and while her books, so far, don't make me want to grab everyone I find; her books are great go to stories when you just need something quick to read.
August 19, 2014
Best-selling romantic suspense/thriller author, Andrea Kane, introduced a new tale to us in her historical romance, The Theft. We were introduced to Lady Noelle Bromleigh, who was determined to find out the truth on her biological mother from her loving adoptive parents to Franco Baricci, the blackguard who seduced and abandoned her mother. She was set out on the path to destroy him. But the knowledge wasn't enough for her, when she defied society to travel to England alone and unchaperoned. Danger and excitement awaited her there, when she met the earl of Tremlett, Ashford Thornton, who seduced her and awakened the wildest passion in him with suspicious eyes. From there, Thornton couldn't believe Noelle who lead him to his enemy on his own darkest mission. He couldn't afford to let sweet innocent Noelle steal his heart, when he had his own secrets to keep and to keep his at arm's length from danger.
March 17, 2013
This is the sequel to The Last Duke and Yuletide Treasure (a short story in Gift of Love). The son of Pierce Thorton and the niece of Eric Bromleigh meet on a train ride. He is investigating thefts of paintings and she her long lost father. Then there is the resurrection of the Tin Cup Bandit and a murderer to complicate things.
I love all Andrea Kane's historical works, but this one is a particular favorite since it continues the legacy started in The Last Duke.
I love all Andrea Kane's historical works, but this one is a particular favorite since it continues the legacy started in The Last Duke.
December 17, 2013
For once a heroine that doesn't take stupid risks and actually listens when the hero tells her something for her own safety! I really liked Noelle's character: She came off as a very level headed young lady who also had a thirst for adventure - A very fitting match for the hero!
July 29, 2015
I loved the story line, but didn't pay attention to the fact that this was a romance novel. I had hoped for a historical fiction and could have done without the embarrassingly detailed romance scenes. Sorry Ms. Kane, it's just not my thing.
January 3, 2013
Not as fascinating as his parents' story. Still a nice read, tho!
July 26, 2022
4.75⭐️
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews