Kamo te srce vodi

Casebook of Barnaby Adair #1

by Stephanie Laurens, Dragana Grozdanić (Translator)

U krugovima londonskog visokog društva Penelope se pojavljuje samo da bi zadovoljila društvene norme. Barnaby se čak ni tome ne pokorava. Njezin ljubopitiv i nemirni duh traži više, a to pronalazi nesebično se brinući za djecu bez roditelja. Njegov briljantan um ne troši se u beskrajno dosadnim salonskim raspravama rezerviranim za plemenitu gospodu – on vrijeme provodi u raskrinkavanju i razbijanju najjačih kriminalnih organizacija u Londonu. Napokon, sudbina ih spaja – četiri njezina štićenika netragom nestaju, a samo on može dokučiti gdje i kako započeti potragu. Barnaby Adair i Penelope Ashford, pretražujući zajedno opskurne londonske četvrti istodobno rješavaju okrutan zločin ali i svoje sudbine... koje su nepovratno isprepletene i zauvijek zapečaćene. Jer, što on pomisli, ona izgovara; gdje ona krene, on je slijedi; kad on nudi mnogo, ona traži još više... Oni su dva nezaboravna lika koji će vas poput vihora provesti kroz ovu beskompromisnu priču o strasti, prkosu, nadmetanju, uzimanju i davanju i, povrh svega, o žestokom i nesputanom ljubavnom izgaranju.

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance, Historical, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Regency, Fiction

532 pages, Paperback

First published February 5, 2008

About the author

Stephanie Laurens was born in Sri Lanka, which was at the time the British colony of Ceylon. When she was 5, her family moved to Melbourne, Australia, where she was raised. After continuing through school and earning a Ph.D. in Biochemistry in Australia, Stephanie and her husband moved to Great Britain, taking one of the last true overland journeys from Katmandu to London.

Once in London, Stephanie and her husband both began work as research scientists in Kent. They lived in an area surrounded by history. Their own cottage was built in the 16th century, while next door were the protected ruins of an early Roman villa, and nearby was a 14th century castle.

After four years in England, Stephanie and her husband returned to Australia, where she continued to work in cancer research, eventually heading her own research laboratory. One evening Stephanie realized that she did not have any more of her favorite romance novels to read. After years of thinking about writing her own novel, during nights and weekends for the next several months, she began crafting her own story. That manuscript, Tangled Reins, was the first of her books to be published. After achieving a level of success with her novels, Stephanie "retired" from scientific research and became a full-time novelist. Her novels are primarily historical romances set in the Regency time period.

Stephanie and her husband live on peaceful acreage on the outskirts of Melbourne. If she isn't writing, she's reading, and if she's not reading, she's tending her garden.

Reviews

[Sammy Loves Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historical Mystery Romance...Surprisingly good!!

[Susan (susayq ~) · Rating 3 out of 5]

After meeting Barnaby Adair in several books, he finally got his own. I had a soft spot for him, and he lived up to it. It's too bad he ended up with Penelope Ashford. She just didn't do it for me.

I liked that the mystery was the main focus of this story. I felt like the romance and the "lessons" were a repeat of several of SL's other books. And to be honest, I slimmed those pages cause I was groaning while reading them.

[Kit★ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars! I was super excited to get to this one in our series read. I really liked Barnaby a lot in all of his previous appearances. He's charming and clever and cute (but still manly of course) and all that good stuff. Plus the whole mystery aspect, and his investigating... I was really hoping for a new fave in the series. It almost could've been, except Penelope kinda just didn't do it for me. I didn't hate her, or avidly dislike her, but she had her moments where she just aggravated me. When we met her before in a previous book, she was an interesting character, so I was rather hoping for better from her. She did have good qualities, she was brave and independent and smart, and of course, this being a Cynster-connected novel, she was a deft hand at the social whirl and ton stuff. No awkward, shy, unpopular heroines allowed in these books. But she was too bossy for my liking, too demanding, too keen on doing things her way all the time. I did like the mystery though. It wasn't too easy to figure out, and it was interesting. I find myself to be the type that likes kids as characters in romances, so the whole orphan house, and the kids were interesting. I also really liked how SL gave us a very welcome change of scenery. Sure, I still had to put up with a couple society soirees, but I really liked the East End setting. It was very interesting to see the poor side of things, and not just spend all the time in the ballrooms. So that was good. Another plus for the story was the secondary characters of Stokes and Griselda. I liked them a lot! I liked Stokes very much when he was introduced in another novel, and only like him more after this one. Griselda was great too. Her impoverished background and her making her way up in the world was a neat change from the proper lady. Plus she had a pleasant personality. My only complaint is that I wanted to see more of Stokes and Griselda! I could've done with a lot less of Penelope's passion lessons on learning the levels of desire... a tired, tired piece of plot in this series. Gah! If one more heroine decides she wants a hero to give her lessons in desire, I'm gonna yack. I wanted to see more of the buildup of Stokes and Griz's love (not necessarily the sex, but more flirting, or something, more time together), and less of Penelope's nekkid back-&-front-sides. The sex slowed the story down. And a lot of the time when it happened was just odd. Like they snuck out of soirees, and went and spent the night at his house, and no one ever noticed. Ok, sure. And let's not forget that silly coshing him in the head on the street as a means to get into his house to lose her virginity to him. And bossing his butler around like she was the mistress of the house already... I will say I was glad the whole 'I never want to get married!' - 'Oh, but we must, now that you let me poke you!' - 'I still won't marry, I don't care what society says!' drama wasn't a big deal in this one. That was a relief. They handled it well. He didn't push, and she didn't really fight it, just came to a conclusion that she wanted to after all.
Sigh. All in all, it wasn't bad. And I'm definitely going to continue on with the series. Looking forward to The Peculiar Case of Lord Finsbury's Diamonds, and all the other books to come, the one about Mr. Montague, and of course, the redeeming of Malcolm Sinclair. Eager as all get out for them. Of course, I'm looking forward to more Cynsters too, despite my occasional complaining. We've only got two more to go... Henrietta, and Mary's stories. I'm hoping for the best! 3.5 Stars :)

[Anita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for a Regency detective and I met Barnaby Adair in The Taste of Innocence, Cynster #14, at the wedding of Charlie and Sarah. I noted the reaction of the prim Penelope to Barnaby and thought Stephanie Laurens wouldn't just drop an attraction like that and not follow up. This book is that follow up. It looks like I'm headed down the Stephanie Laurens rabbit hole, should be fun. I chose an abridged (6 hours) version of the audio by Charlotte Parry of this book, and it was excellent! No looooog sex scenes and the wonderful plot took center stage.

Penelope Ashford, a very forceful lady of the ton, is the director of the Foundling Home which takes in those children who have been orphaned. The Home trains the orphans in various trades and has been quite successful. Guardians contact the Home and place their charges on a list. Lately several boys have gone missing after the death of their guardians and Penelope is alarmed.

Barnaby Adair, handsome third son of an earl, has a strange, according to the ton anyway, avocation. He likes to take part in Scotland Yard investigations. When Penelope comes to him with news of the missing boys, he promises to help her find them.

Taken by her directness, beauty and intelligence, Barnaby soon falls under her spell and decides that Penelope will make an excellent wife, even though he wasn't actively looking. But he has to play the long game in order to bring Penelope to accept the idea, which she is loath to do.

Barnaby, Penelope, and his Scotland Yard contact, Inspector Basil Stokes along with Gissella, a shop owner with ties in the East End of London set about finding what has become of the boys. They all agree that the purpose is not a good one and eventually uncover a plot that will make someone very rich if successful.

[Aou · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Mostly not listened while doing some staff and haven' t lost the thread" like boring!

[Keri · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED this book! I love historical romance with mystery and in this book the mystery was just as strong as the romance. Barnaby and Stokes made a great team. My only niggle is that I wish Stokes and his lady would have actually got a kissing scene at least. But overall the book was A+ for me and I can't wait for the next one in this series.

[moi, k.y.a. · Rating 2 out of 5]

bugün kitap okuyabilmiş olmam beni bile oldukça şaşırttı, ne yalan söyleyeyim. (:

[Bona Caballero · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aristócratas originales: Barnaby Adair se dedica a resolver crímenes, Penelope Ashford lleva un orfanato. Penelope le encarga investigar algunas desapariciones de niños. Barnaby cree que podrá hacerlo a su bola, pero no cuenta con la decidida y voluntariosa Penelope. Eso le lleva a descubrir que, contra lo que él pensaba, sí que hay una mujer perfecta para él: Penelope. Como sabe que ella no está por la labor, se esforzará para que sea ella la que cambie de opinión.
Laurens es de esas autoras competentes, tiene los personajes y el argumento aunque luego en el estilo sientas que falta algo, coges y dejas el libro sin que te enganche. Pero en conjunto, cumple. Destacaría que Barnaby y Penelope saben evolucionar a lo largo del libro. No tienen problemas en admitir que su soltería puede cambiarse si encuentran a la persona adecuada.
Crítica más extensa, en mi blog.

[June · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was an okay read. I like the hero, but I barely tolerated the heroine, I find her to be rude and bossy, and not in good way. The secondary is much cuter.

[Natasa · Rating 2 out of 5]

The characters were annoying and the writing style beyond annoying. I thought I was reading a romance novel with some mystery in it but the book was missing one thing - the actual romance.

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Penelope Ashford, administrator of an orphanage named Foundling House, has been deemed by the ton as 'unmarriageable'. Penelope wouldn't have it any other way. Determined never to marry, she refuses even the thought of any male treating her as a simple woman, taking away her independence, of letting her life her life the way she wants.

Barnaby Adair has been named a confirmed bachelor, much to his mother's dismay, who constantly pushes him even when he refuses to budge. He sees his friends falling in love, and while he's happy for them, he doesn't understand it, and doesn't believe it will happen to him. He doesn't believe he will find someone as sharp in mind, as strong-willed and determined as him, who will understand his need for investigating. That is, until Penelope walks into his life one night, demanding his time and help.

Children, boys, who are supposed to be brought to the Foundling House after the deaths of their guardians, are being snatched by someone else. This is unacceptable with Penelope, and she's determined to get to the bottom of the mystery. She begs help from Barnaby, who finds her intriguing, and unlike any female he's ever met.

As the mystery, the investigation, goes deeper, so does their relationship. Confirmed bachelor no more, Barnaby is determined to have Penelope, as his wife, his lover, his equal. But will he be able to convince Penelope to see it his way? Little does he know, Penelope is running her own conclusions in her mind. Changing his heart against bachelorhood will be a challenge, one that she'll take on, no matter how logical her mind will make it seem.

**Terrific. Perfect. Stephanie Laurens has a way with her characters and her story.

Penelope and Barnaby were the perfect match right from the beginning. They complimented each other so well, and it was fun watching their relationship grow, reading their thoughts - unbeknown to them - heading in the same direction.

The mystery evolved well, with twists, suspense and a happy ending. Who could ask for better?

5 stars - all the way.

[Carrie Olguin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always enjoy Laurens' stories and characters. Her men are men.

Her heroines are the adventurous, independent types without being TSTL (which means they are NOT loners. They are capable of recongnizing danger and are willing to "amass the troups" when the problem is beyond their capabilities. Why so many heroines in romance novels try to do everything without help is beyond me, when in real life, females rarely even go the the ladies room all alone!)

So I am thankful to read about strong willed, intelligent people (both the hero and heroine) with plenty of events that allow me to spend time with them. I thoroughly enjoyed this romantic adventure.

But a problem I have with Larens' prose is her habit of using more words than needed to make a point. There are whole sentences (even paragraphs) where she uses every word in the thesarus to try and drive her point home. And she has often fills sentences with adverbs (those loverly words ending in ly), as many as four in a sentence (or series of sentence fragements). Both of theses prose issues happen mostly during the sex scenes.

It's a bit insulting (and distracting) as if she thinks the reader doesn't comprehend the meaning without using as many words as possible. Sometimes I get the impression that the sex scenes are written by a different person because the prose is so diffferent in those scenes.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh I do love those Cynsters.

Re-reading 2015 Liked it better the second time through.

2017--oh there is a laugh out loud scene here that, on its own, is worth the 4 stars. Better every time I read it; undoubtedly that is because of the continued intersections of families and stories. And I DO like Barnaby!

2018--it's become one of my favorites.
2020–one I always return to
2024--so it clearly earns another star.

[Lisa Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

★★★½☆ Not as enjoyable this time around, even if I did do it as a “buddy read.” I actually put it down and it took forever for me to pick it back up. Who ever thought I'd say too many - and long - love scenes? SL should have gotten back to the mystery, which was well done.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't think was as good as many of Ms. Laurens' other books, but I did enjoy it for the most part.
I rather liked the way SL described the kiss between Penelope & Barnaby on pages 128 & 129 - rather lovely emotive writing. It felt I was a bystander witnessing the kiss!

[Natalia Martin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Segundo libro que leo de esta autora, segunda decepción, creo que ya no probaré con ningún libro más. Paso a exponer mi razones:
Primera y mas importante si quería escribir un libro en una época determinada debería haberse documentado sobre la ropa, las costumbres y los hábitos de la misma. No me sirve que la protagonista fuera una mujer adelantada y quisiera independencia en algunos momentos de la narración porque en otros momentos dice que quiere atenerse a las normas sociales por tanto es necesario documentarse y respetar unos marcos mínimos para que la historia tenga sentido.
Si los lectores y escritores de romántica queremos que nos respeten porque entendemos que nuestras lecturas son tan serias como otras cualesquiera lo mínimo que podemos hacer es exigir calidad en los libros y éste en concreto no tiene ninguna calidad en cuanto a la documentación y el marco histórico por tanto me parece una falta de respeto para el lector, que como es mi caso, ha leído otros muchos libros y está bastante documentado sobre la época.
Segunda razón : los personajes, vamos a ver, con las miradas se comunican de una forma sobrehumana y Penélope es particularmente insufrible y desde luego nada creíble ni en esa época ni en la actual.
Tercera razón : la relación en la cama y la historia de amor se plantea como si fuera una estrategia de marketing o un negocio ¿en serio? yo debo ser una persona muy simple porque mis pensamientos nunca han sido tan complejos al relacionarme con los demás, desde luego más que tener un relación de pareja parece que estuvieran planeando fundar una gran empresa.
Lo único bueno que puedo decir del libro es que en esta ocasión las escenas de sexo son menos que en la vez anterior.
Totalmente decepcionante por la autora y por la editoral que no comprueba la calidad de sus escritos

[Carol (bookish_notes)]

This book isn’t even that old but I find the prose unreadable to me. Too much phrasings? comma splices? that a certain number of histrom love doing and it’s tiring to read. Didn’t make it out of the first chapter.

[Dr. Lillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened as Audiobook. Romance with a side of mystery thrown in, centered on Penelope and Barnaby. First of the Barnaby Adair mysteries.

[Hilda Correa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sin importar que el comienzo haya sido un poco denso, la pluma de Stephanie Laurens es una de las más ricas a la hora de narrar. Una trama que fue in crescendo hasta el punto de no querer soltar el libro en el último tercio de la historia.
Simplemente, la adoro.

[Kath · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great plot, love a mystery with not one sleuth but two, both determined to stay unattached, marriage not being for either. However, temperatures rise and and the plot thickens.

[MB (What she read) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I looked forward to this new series of the Barnaby Adair Case Files. I always think that the mystery/suspense elements add so much to Laurens' books. This book is good. It has a great plot, but I got bogged down about 2/3 of the way through. Let me explain:

I enjoy Stephanie Laurens' books and read every one I can get my hands on. I especially appreciate her knowledge of the period! The dialogue is authentic, and her characters seem to behave more-or-less appropriately to their era. Some of her phrasing reminds me of Georgette Heyer--a high compliment! I especially enjoy the mystery/suspense elements and her strong female characters. As a previous reviewer mentions, she writes very "hot" sex scenes. Her heroes get me every time.

Because she is so good, there are always a few things that bug me. I wish she'd cut out the triple adjective phrases! I wish all of the characters book-to-book didn't think & sound exactly the same. I wish some of the repetitive "inner musing" was cut out so that I could better enjoy the action and dialogue. And last but not least, why don't the heroines ever wear appropriate period underwear? They always "go commando" which is just not authentic. Also, they rarely worry about getting pregnant in spite of all the premarital sex--they rarely even think of the possibility. This is unlikely.

All of these elements keep me from totally enjoying SL's books and rating them as high as they should be rated.

[Kerri · Rating 4 out of 5]

A historical romance novel wrapped around a pretty decent mystery. I really liked Penelope (although, Penelope and Barnaby? Really? Terrible names.) - her work ethic, priorities, and logical way of thinking. I sort of want her life. Barnaby was also cool, although the multiple references to "trapping" Penelope and "possessing" her were a bit much. And, I would have read an entire novel about Stokes and Griselda.
This was the first Stephanie Laurens novel I've read. I may find that this is repeated in her other books if I read them, but I really liked how Penelope in particular worked through her dislike of marriage to arrive at the conclusion that, in order to fall asleep next to Barnaby every night and someday be the recipient of his loving gazes, she would probably have to marry him, and it would probably be all right. The impetus for actually wedding was less sexual than it was sweet. Instead of, "oh boy, I want you so much, meet me at the altar" it was, "I like discussing things with you AND I think you're hot, we can probably make this work and we'll both be happier for it." IMO, a far more realistic and lovely portrait of life partnership than one often reads.

[PLP · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just okay

In the beginning I was fascinated by the characters. In particular, the heroine's logic intrigued me. In the beginning, the two POV were enlightening.

However, then the author started with the sex scenes. They were very drawn out and a little boring. The seemed more a "how to" than anything.

I don't think this book was that romantic. I would call it a courtship; an unorthodox one, but still a courtship.

I did finish the book but it was tough going. I really though the book would never end.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the premise of adding some mystery to Laurens books is great. Good book but not one that you can't stand to put down. While, I might read others in this series, it is not one of those series that you have to immediately pick up the next book in the series

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It had just the right amount of eveything. Suspense, suprise, romance and a nice dose of history. I would read more of the Barnaby Adair series.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

good. fun quick read.

[Ki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I

[CulturalNoise · Rating 4 out of 5]

In diesem Buch lernen wir Barnaby Adair kennen, den dritten Sohn des Earls of Cothelstone, der völlig untypisch für seine Stellung gemeinsam mit der Polizei Kriminalfälle aufklärt. Die Truppe von Scotland Yard wurde erst vor Kurzem gegründet und steht noch auf dem Prüfstand. Barnaby hilft den Ermittlern, sich in den Salons der feinen Gesellschaft zurechtzufinden und bildet ein sehr erfolgreiches Team mit Inspektor Basil Stokes, der inzwischen einer seiner engsten Freunde ist. Der Standesunterschied stört Barnaby kein bisschen, denn unabhängig von der gesellschaftlichen Stellung geht es beiden Männern um Gerechtigkeit.

Barnaby hat es sich zur Aufgabe gemacht, auch Gentleman vor Gericht zu stellen, die ohne seine Einmischung aufgrund ihres Ranges ungestraft davonkommen würden. Damit macht er sich nicht nur Freunde und bringt seine Mutter regelmäßig zum Verzweifeln.

Wer die Cynster-Reihe der Autorin gelesen hat, wird Barnaby Adair bereits kennen. Er und Stokes treten dort an einigen Stellen als Ermittler auf und auch Penelope Ashford, die jüngste Schwester des Viscounts of Calverton, ist mit den Cynsters verknüpft. Sie leitet sehr leidenschaftlich und engagiert ein Findelhaus, was ebenfalls keineswegs standesgemäß ist. Penelope bittet Barnaby um Hilfe, weil immer mehr Waisenjungen verschwinden, die in die Obhut des Findelhauses übergeben werden sollten. Wie scheinbar bei Stephanie Laurens üblich, stehen also zwei starke, unkonventionelle Charaktere im Mittelpunkt, die sich perfekt ergänzen.

Natürlich will Penelope an den Ermittlungen teilnehmen und so kommt es, dass Barnaby und Stokes gleich zwei Frauen am Hals haben. Denn Griselda besteht ebenfalls darauf zu helfen, nachdem sie von Stokes um ein paar Insider-Informationen zum East End gebeten wurde. Dass es zwischen beiden Paaren funkt, versteht sich von selbst. Also erzählt dieser Roman eigentlich zwei Liebesgeschichten - die von Stokes und Griselda jedoch nur am Rande.

Ich habe bisher erst zwei Romane von Stephanie Laurens gelesen, werde mich aber garantiert noch auf weitere Titel der Autorin stürzen. Denn ihre interessante, differenzierte Art, die Gesellschaft dieser Zeit zu zeichnen, hat mich jetzt schon zum zweiten Mal begeistert. Außerdem beherrscht Laurens die Kunst, trotz Er-/Sie-Perspektive intensive und gefühlvolle Einblicke in das Geschehen zu gewähren. Die Gedanken und Emotionen der Protagonisten sind stets präsent und ziehen mich beim Lesen immer wieder in den Bann. Kleine Unstimmigkeiten und andere harmlose Kritikpunkte macht sie damit problemlos wett.

Apropos:
Penelope ist anfangs mit ihrer kompromisslosen und hochnäsigen Art etwas anstrengend. Nicht nur einmal habe ich über ihre Bockigkeit die Augen verdreht. Erst nach und nach kann sie sich eingestehen, dass es Männer gibt, die ebenfalls etwas im Kopf haben - was bisher anscheinend völlig an ihr vorbeigegangen ist. Obwohl sie mit den Cynster-Männern verschwägert ist, die ja fraglos intelligent sind. Das trifft im Übrigen auch auf Penelopes Bruder Luc zu. Also ist dieser Punkt für mich nicht ganz plausibel.

Penelopes soziales Engagement und ihr Herzblut haben mich jedoch von Anfang an mitgerissen. Ich finde es unglaublich toll, wie sie die Standesgrenzen sprengt und für die Waisenkinder kämpft. Ihre aufrichtige Freundschaft zu Griselda hat mich ebenfalls berührt, denn schließlich ist die junge Frau "nur" eine schlichte Putzmacherin. Aber Penelopes Emanzipation schlägt zu oft in Trotz um, was meine Sympathie für sie anfangs ziemlich hart auf die Probe gestellt hat. Zum Glückt sorgt die Bekanntschaft mit Barnaby dafür, dass sie sich in diesem Punkt deutlich kooperativer zeigt und auch ihre sanfteren Wesenszüge zulässt.

Penelopes Entwicklung hat mir sehr gut gefallen, weil diese unschönen, nervigen Charakterzüge immer mehr in den Hintergrund treten und durch Kompromissbereitschaft ersetzt werden. Penelope tut immer so, als wäre sie extrem aufgeschlossen, aber gerade zu Beginn hat sie sehr viele Vorurteile. Erst durch Barnaby kommt sie ins Grübeln und zieht vorsichtig in Betracht, dass doch nicht alles schwarz oder weiß ist und sich ein zweiter Blick oftmals lohnt.

Barnaby ist sehr einfühlsam und durchschaut Penelope sofort. Um ihr Herz zu gewinnen, passt er sich an und hat am Ende natürlich Erfolg. Die Liebesgeschichte ist weder schnulzig noch übermäßig romantisch. Die schlagfertigen und humorvollen Dialoge, das unkonventionelle Verhalten der Protagonisten und die gemeinsame Ermittlung sorgen automatisch dafür, dass sich Penelope und Barnaby näher kommen. Gerade deshalb hat mir auch die gefühlvolle Seite des Romans sehr gut gefallen.

Ein weiterer Kritikpunkt sind die langen Schachtelsätze, die sich relativ häufig im Buch finden. Ich musste diese Stellen teilweise mehrfach lesen, um den Sinn voll und ganz zu verstehen. Einige Passagen passen nicht zum Stil des restlichen Romans - vor allem, wenn die Autorin die Ereignisse rafft und trotzdem über alles informieren will. Diese Absätze wirken auf mich recht konfus und unterbrechen leider den Lesefluss.

Der Krimi-Part konnte mich dieses Mal viel mehr überzeugen, als es bei "In den Armen des Eroberers" (Cynster-Reihe, Bd. 1) der Fall war. Denn auch ich habe ziemlich lange im Dunkeln getappt. Daher hat es mir großen Spaß gemacht, mit Barnaby, Penelope, Stokes und Griselda zu ermitteln. Ich habe mich über jede neue Information gefreut. Dass es einige Längen in der Ermittlungsarbeit gibt, war schon ein wenig frustrierend - aber das ist eigentlich gar nicht so schlimm, denn es spiegelt die Frustration der Protagonisten authentisch wider.

Die Autorin legt großen Wert auf Details, was ich wirklich interessant finde. Besonders weil es die Sichtweise der Protagonisten unterstreicht. Penelope und Barnaby sind sehr aufmerksam. Ich finde es nur passend, dass auch ihre Geschichte mit einer Sorgfalt erzählt wird, die den beiden alle Ehre machen würde.

Fazit:
Dieser historische Liebesroman ist mehr Detektivgeschichte als Schnulze. Die starken, unkonventionellen Charaktere bilden das Herzstück des Buches. Sie kämpfen für Gerechtigkeit und setzen sich für Schwächere ein, ohne sich von den Regeln der feinen Gesellschaft einschränken zu lassen. Die Geschichte wird sehr leidenschaftlich und detailliert erzählt. Das hat mich beeindruckt und mich für die kleinen Kritikpunkte entschädigt.

Wertung: 4 Punkte

Anmerkung:
Bei diesem Buch handelt es sich um eine Neuauflage des gleichnamigen Titels, der im Jahr 2010 im Blanvalet Verlag veröffentlicht wurde.
"Im Feuer der Nacht" bildet den Auftakt einer Serie mit historischen Kriminalfällen und Romantik, die als Spin-off zur Cynster-Reihe angelegt wurde. Wer sich für die Fortsetzungen interessiert, sollte sich diese Bücher genauer anschauen:

* The Peculiar Case of Lord Finsbury's Diamonds [Novelle - Englisch]
2. Wenn ein Gentleman in Liebe entbrennt
* The Curious Case of Lady Latimer's Shoes [Novelle - Englisch]
3. Loving Rose: The Redemption of Malcolm Sinclair [Englisch]
* The Confounding Case of the Carisbrook Emeralds [Novelle - Englisch]
* The Murder at Mandeville Hall [Novelle - Englisch]

(Diese Rezension ist erschienen auf literatur.cultural-noise.de / Text: KR)

[Sandra Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

My rating: 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 stars.

This book is well-written, because Stephanie Laurens is a talented writer. I read it several years ago, but recently decided to re-read several of Laurens' books, since I had enjoyed them all. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I still like this book -- maybe not quite as much as the first read, but I still liked it a lot.

I liked Barnaby, and liked that he wasn't bothered by Penelope's independence and intelligence. Most men of that time period would have been totally turned off by a strong-willed woman like Penelope, but not Barnaby. He actually realized that her strength and intelligence made them more compatible.

I liked Penelope well enough, but thought her behavior was a little extreme sometimes (like when she coshed Barnaby, so she could sleep with him? Very odd.) I did like that she was open to changing her opinion about marriage after falling for Barnaby.

It did seem like Barnaby and Penelope were mostly in lust, not love, especially at first. But they got past that, and I liked that they were both willing to admit they were in love. By the way, as is typical of Laurens' romances, this one has quite a few sex scenes.

I liked that the book included a secondary romance, with Stokes and Griselda, and that Griselda and Penelope became good friends.

My rating system is below.
1 star -- Hated it, or did not finish. I usually only give this rating if some of the content is truly objectionable to me, like if one of the main characters does something really awful, and gets away with it.
2 stars -- Didn't like it. This rating usually means that I thought the writing wasn't very good, the editing was terrible, I didn't like the characters, or it had other major flaws.
3 stars -- I liked it, but had some minor issues with it. This rating means that there were minor editing issues, the story needed more character development, it was just too unrealistic, or had some other fairly minor issue. The majority of books I read get this rating – I do not consider it a bad rating.
4 stars -- I liked it a lot. This is a high rating for me, and I rarely give a higher one.
5 stars -- I loved it, and will probably read it again. Very few books are good enough to get this rating from me. The ones that do are usually classics.

[Diletta Nicastro · Rating 3 out of 5]

'La strada del cuore' è il 17mo (o il 16mo secondo altre fonti) libro della saga Bar Cynster di Stephanie Laurens (iniziata nel 1998 con 'La sposa del diavolo' e al momento al 32mo volume con 'The time for love', uscito nell’agosto 2022 negli Stati Uniti), ma è altresì il primo di una nuova serie, 'Casebook of Barnaby Adair', composta ad oggi di 5 volumi (più racconti vari), che narra le indagini di Barnaby Adair al fianco di Penelope Ashford (che poi diventerà sua moglie) e la coppia formata dall’Ispettore Stokes, con la moglie Griselda.

Perché questo romanzo ha avuto così tanto successo (da quando è uscito negli Stati Uniti nel 2008 ha avuto ben 37 edizioni, senza contare che anche in Italia ha avuto il privilegio di una ristampa nel 2015 nella serie Oro)?
La risposta è semplice: i quattro protagonisti sono molto forti e rappresentano una sintesi della scala sociale inglese dell’epoca, in cui i membri collaborano pur riconoscendo le differenze, ma uniti da una solida amicizia e con l’obiettivo di combattere la malavita.
Chi forse spicca di più è Griselda, che proviene dai bassifondi di Londra ma che, con la sua tenacia e la sua abilità, è riuscita ad uscirne aprendo un piccolo negozio da modista (che ovviamente sarà ben pubblicizzato da Penelope presso l’alta società).

Questo libro mi ha richiamato le atmosfere cupe e romantiche della serie tv 'Miss Scarlet and the Duke'. Sebbene la storia sia differente (Miss Scarlett non è nobile, mentre Penelope Ashford lo è fin troppo), ci sono varie tematiche che li accomunano, in primis vedere una donna nei panni di un’investigatrice (seppur dilettante nel romanzo) che riesce a competere e a volte superare la sua controparte maschile.
Chi ha apprezzato la serie, amerà sicuramente il libro.

Complessivamente si tratta di un buon romance, profondo e ricco di situazioni interessanti. Devo, ahimè, rimarcare ancora una volta l’inserimento di inutili scene di sesso tra i due protagonisti. Il libro procedeva magnificamente per circa metà della narrazione, per poi scadere in interazioni inaccettabili per l’epoca e veramente inutili per la trama.
Ripulito e presentato con una copertina adeguata, questo libro sarebbe stato un piccolo capolavoro. Così rimane una romanzo carino, che lascia però in bocca la sensazione di un’occasione mancata.