Deliciously Wicked

Ladies' Amateur Sleuth Society #2

by Robyn DeHart

Meet the Ladies' Amateur Sleuth Society: Four unconventional ladies with a most unladylike interest in crime-solving—but clueless when it comes to the needs of their own hearts.

When wildly independent Meg Piddington finds herself locked in her father's chocolate factory after hours with a most disarmingly attractive gentleman, she doesn't realize that she is his alibi—proof that Gareth Mandeville did not commit a dastardly crime. But admitting as much would destroy her reputation, which gallant Gareth refuses to do. Besides, he believes even prison would be preferable to marriage, which is what their revelation would certainly demand!

At last, here's the perfect opportunity for Meg to don her sleuthing hat to get to the root of the secretive stranger's troubles! Besides, the man sends oh-so-pleasant shivers coursing through her body. And though heaven may well await in Gareth's embrace, danger may dwell there also . . . if the determined lady embarks on a grand mission to win his love.

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Mystery, Historical Fiction, Chick Lit

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 26, 2006

About the author

National Bestselling author, Robyn DeHart’s novels have appeared in the top bestselling romance and historical romance lists. Her books have been translated into nearly a dozen languages. Her historical romantic adventure series, The Legend Hunters, were not only bestsellers, but also award-winners, snagging a Reader’s Crown and a Reviewer’s Choice award. She had three releases in 2013 and 2014 will see four more, all set in the popular historical romance Regency and Victorian eras.

Known for her “strong dialogue and characters that leap off the page” (RT Bookclub) and her “sizzling romance” (Publishers Weekly), her books have been featured in USA Today and the Chicago Tribune. A popular writing instructor, she has given speeches at writing conferences in Los Angeles, DC, New York, Dallas, Nashville and Toronto, among many others.

When not writing, you can find Robyn hanging out with her family, husband (The Professor) a university professor of Political Science and their two ridiculously beautiful and smart daughters, Busybee and Babybee as well as two spoiled-rotten cats. They live in the hill country of Texas where it’s hot eight months of the year, but those big blue skies make it worth it.

You can find Robyn online in a variety of places.
Sign up for Robyn’s newsletter www.robyndehart.com/newsletter/
Robyn’s website www.robyndehart.com
Robyn on Twitter twitter.com/RobynDeHart
Robyn on Facebook www.facebook.com/pages/Robyn-DeHart-H...
Robyn on Goodreads www.goodreads.com/author/show/288853....

What others say about Robyn’s books.
“Robyn DeHart’s vibrant characters sweep the reader into a clever and sensual romp that is not to be missed.” – Julia London, NYT Bestselling Author
“Robyn DeHart proves that falling in love is the greatest adventure of all.” – Teresa Medeiros, NYT Bestselling Author
“Sizzling romance…DeHart makes the romance believable and enticing.” - Publishers Weekly
“DeHart is a genuine treasure.” – Booklist
“Robyn DeHart has become one of my favorite authors…where she shines is in creating character…. DeHart’s romances are tender and adventurous, and funny enough you may laugh your nethers off.” – FreshFiction
“One of the best historical romance authors writing today.” - Shana Galen, National Bestselling Author

Reviews

[Songül · Rating 3 out of 5]

Historicalromance TEMA'larına hakimiyetinin az olduğunu düşünecek olursak ben hikayeyi günümüz romance ına daha uygun buldum diyebilirim . Fena değildi Epsilon diğer 2 kitabı çıkarır mı bilmem ama çıkarırsa okurum herhalde .. Malum iyi yazarları es geçip yan yazarlara yöneldiğini düşünecek olursak ..

[April Hollingworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I do love a good romance and this did not let me down. A wonderful rich historical setting with a feisty heroin and a fabulous man.
What would you do to save someone when to do so would destroy your reputation? Meg decides that she will investigate and solve the crime putting herself in danger, after all she knows Gareth didn't steal from her father's company since she was locked in a room with him all night!
Fabulous romance set in historical London love it!

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cover of this book is a complete mismatch for the story, but boy I really enjoyed it. (Of course, I didn’t write the review right away so can’t remember the details).

Our heroine, Meg, is the daughter of a successful factory owner, a chocolate factory! She’s not married, by her choice she claims. She’d make a good match for a man because her husband would assume control of the factory, but she’d rather take over the business from her father herself. While her father is incapacitated with an injury she tries to prove to him she could assume control which lands her locked in the factory late at night with our hero, Gareth. And in late 19th century England, a young woman should not be trapped ANYWHERE with a man or her reputation will be ruined.

Gareth works in Meg’s father’s factory, but his language belies a more educated background. His mysterious background is revealed little by little as the book progresses forward.

The book has mystery, strong female friendship, and the challenges of being a woman who wants to be something more than a wife. The action begins in the first sentence and keeps moving forward. A very enjoyable read.

4/5 on my romance scale

[nurmawati · Rating 4 out of 5]

salah satu buku robyn dehart yang gw suka....

kali ini cerita nya ttg miss meg piddington....heiress dari keluarga kaya pemilik pabrik coklat di inggris....
karena ayah nya mesti istirahat dirumah krn kecelakaan, meg membantu ayah nya mengurus pabrik coklat itu...
bukan hal yang biasa saat itu, biasanya wanita gak bekerja di bagian depan...apalagi seorang gadis terhormat seperti meg....
meg juga bertekad jadi spinster, dia gak mau merit, gak mau menderita sepewrti ayahnya yang hancur saat ibu nya meninggal...
lagipula meg mau ayahnya mewarisi pabrik itu ke dia...dia berusaha membuktikan ke ayah nya kalau wanita juga bisa jadi pengusaha...

suatu malam meg pergi ke pabrik coklatnya buat mengambil dokumen, dikiranya gak ada lagi pekerja disana...ternyata dia gak sendiri, dia terkurung bersama seorang pekerja baru yang super ganteng tapi judes dan dingin, garreth mabndeville...
mereka terjebak dalam 1 ruangan bersama yang kalo org lain sampe tau, meg bakal tercemar....
garreth bukan org yang gampang di ajak bisavara..kerjaannya marah2 mulu...apalgi si meg lumayan bawel...so supaya gak 'berisik', garreth mencium meg :p

rupanya ciuman spontan itu membuat mereka berdua sama2 gak bisa melupakan...tapi tetep aja garreth menjaga jarak secara dia gak mau terikat ke wanita dan dia hanya mau bekerja disana...garreth bekerja keras demi membiayai ibu dan adik2 nya di irelland...

besoknya tersiar kabar kalo di pabrik terjadi pencurian....kotak2 coklat khusus pesanan seorang lady kaya menghilang....
pengawas pabrik menuduh garreth yang mencuri karena ternyata ada yang membayar dia buat memfitnah garreth agak di berhentikan dari pabrik
meg yang tau kalo garreth gak bersalah mencoba membantu garreth....
tapi dia gak bisa bilang kalo dia lah alibi garreth pada malam itu, karena kalo ada org yang tau mereka pasti di paksa menikah...meg gak berniat menikah dan garreth pun dari awal udah tegas2 bilang dia gak akan pernah menikah...

meg akhirnya memutuskan menyelidiki kasus pencurian ini secara diam2 dengan bantuan teman nya....
karena nekad mau menyelidiki rumah si pengawas akhirnya garreth ikut juga, dia khawatir meg yang reckless bakal terbelit masalah..
disana mereka menemukan bukti kalo si pengawas adalah suruhan seseorang yang mau memfitnah garreth....
pulang dari sana di kereta kuda lagi2 garreth mencium meg...
walau bertekad kuat gak bakal tergoda tetap aja mereka sering berciuman :p
walo abis gitu garreth menyesal dan menarik diri....

ada adegan dimana meg berpura2 merayu si pengawas supaya bisa mengumpulan informasi...garreth bersembunyi di bawah meja di kaki meg....
sambil meg interogasi si jahat, tangan garreth bergerilya di bawah rok si meg :D
sampe pas si jahat keluar dari ruangan, mereka lanjut berciuman...dan berlanjut lagi sampai....*sensooooor*
tapi gak sampe uhuk2 sih....si garreth nya yang menservis si meg hihihihi....
(ini 2 orang katanya gak mau terikat, gak mau jatuh cinta, tapi gak bisa menjauh satu sama lain :p)

and then...si pengawas menanam bukti palsu di loker si garreth yang menuduh garreth lah pencuri nya...
demi supaya garreth gak keluar akhirnya meg bilang kalo pada malam kejadian, dia dan garreth terkurung bersama di sana...
so mau gak mau garreth harus menikahi meg.....

garreth sebenernya punya rahasia...dia adalah viscount mandeville....
dia bangsawan bergelar tinggi tapi hidup miskin karena ayahnya kalah judi dan mereka kehilangan estate, dowry adiknya dll....
saat itu garreth 12 tahun, ibunya membawa garreth dan adik2 nya ke irreland meninggalkan ayahnya...
sebulan after that, ayahnya meninggal krn bertinju...dari itu garreth gak pernah balik ke inggris buat mengklaim gelarnya...

tapi karena harus menikahi meg, mau gak mau garreth harus mengatakan yg sebenarnya....

saat itu meg merasa kalo garreth menikahi dia hanya karena keharusan dan bukan cinta...meg pun merasa kalo dia ke garreth gak cinta..dia gak akan mau menyerahkan hati nya karena takut kecewa...

so meg sangat kecewa pas hari pernikahannya, after mengucap janji, garreth meninggalkannya....
ternyata garreth harus mengurus sesuatu yg berkaitan dengan gelarnya..meg gak tau, dikira nya garreth marah ke dia dan gak mau tinggal buat malam pernikahannya...
karena meg udah terlanjur beli gaun tidur baru super tipis...akhirnya di pake juga....
pas meg lagi duduk menyisir rambutnya....tiba2 garreth datang basah2 an kehijanan....
matanya ampir jatuh ngeliat meg pake baju super tipis :p
dihampiri...di peluk dari belakng...di kissu...dan langsung deh di bawa ke tempat tidur....
selanjutnyaaaa........*sensor* lagi...
yang pasti walo masing2 ngaku gak cinta tapi semangat banget ya melakukan malam pertama...sampe 2 kali pula heheheh....

so gimana kelanjutannya ? siapa yang mencuri coklat2 tersebut ? apa alasannya ? kenapa dia mau menjatuhkan garreth ??
kayaknya mesti baca sendiri....
yang pasti baca buku ini enak, mengalir dengan lancar...steamy juga....
meg suka mencoba berbagai 'hal' baru.....gak nolak di suruh macam2 gaya dan inisiatif juga buat melakukannya di lantai hihihi....

kepanjangan lagi ripiu nya.....:p

[Ozlem Kahraman · Rating 4 out of 5]

it is lovely book.l like it.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this series. Very romantic, sexy and witty. A very good historical romance novel.

[Jane Stewart · Rating 1 out of 5]

Plodding. Wished it would be over. This was a mystery with a little romance. It was drawn out and uninteresting.

The characters were ok, but the whole package of plot, action and characters was boring. Nothing surprised or delighted me. Story brief: father's wife died and he lives with his daughter Meg. He owns a chocolate factory and someone stole gift boxes and money from the factory. An Irishman Gareth works in the factory. Meg and Gareth seek to solve the mystery, since the guilty person is trying to frame Gareth. Meg has no plans to marry and wants to run the factory after her father dies.

DATA:
Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: four. Setting: 1892 London. Copyright: 2006. Genre: historical mystery with some romance.

[Melody May (What I'm Reading) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Also on http://sillymelody.blogspot.com

Book two of Ladies Amateur Sleuth Society, in this story we get to know Meg Piddington and how she finds love in Gareth Mandeville. At the beginning of the book she gets herself locked in a room with Gareth. How scandalous; right. So, throughout the book Meg is trying to save Gareth from getting fire and not compromise herself in the processes since she is he alibi.

Some of the reviews for this book have been they loved it and others didn't. I thought it was a fun book to read. Come on now, there's a chocolate factory involve, who doesn't like chocolate. Plus, its fun watching the two characters fight there attraction for one another. My friend would consider this brain candy, just entertaining and fluff.

[Diane Peterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars. A very enjoyable book. Once again, I like DeHart's light style. Somehow I didn't connect to these characters as much as in the first book of the series, A Study in Scandal. Not great, but worth reading.

[Maggie Hesseling · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this series. It's like reading Sherlock Holmes and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang all wrapped up in one. Great characters and story; DeHart always leaves me wanting more. Over the years I've read her books (and in some cases multiple times) with pleasure.

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rated 3.5

[Sally Kinane · Rating 1 out of 5]

Must be getting older and more fussy but I just couldn't get into this book. Very slow reading, just couldn't get into it.

[Angela]

9/10/2012: $0.99 on Kindle