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Puppets
He stalked her . . .
Hiding behind the gothic columns of the famed Paris Puppet Theater, Raul Sennett watched her. Katarina Lacroix was a vision of beauty and perfection as she performed onstage, mesmerizing the audience as a human puppet. He didn't know how much longer he could wait to touch her, to be with her.
Returning to his underground lair beneath the century-old theater, Raul cursed the dank vaults where he lived. The world of darkness and isolation had become his home, hiding him from the world above.
In the shadows, secrets lurked--secrets that were the key to his freedom. And only one woman--Katarina Lacroix--could unlock the demons that were buried there. For Raul, they had to be unleashed. No matter what....
Hiding behind the gothic columns of the famed Paris Puppet Theater, Raul Sennett watched her. Katarina Lacroix was a vision of beauty and perfection as she performed onstage, mesmerizing the audience as a human puppet. He didn't know how much longer he could wait to touch her, to be with her.
Returning to his underground lair beneath the century-old theater, Raul cursed the dank vaults where he lived. The world of darkness and isolation had become his home, hiding him from the world above.
In the shadows, secrets lurked--secrets that were the key to his freedom. And only one woman--Katarina Lacroix--could unlock the demons that were buried there. For Raul, they had to be unleashed. No matter what....
250 pages, Paperback
Published November 1, 1992
28 people want to read
About the author
Jenna Ryan
96 books128 followersJenna Ryan was born in Victoria, British Columbia. After long stints in different cities across Canada, she returned home to Vancouver Island where she has lived ever since. She has had thirty-one books published in the Harlequin Intrigue series. Her ideas come from real life, and she is helped in her writing by her sister Kathy.
She enjoys reading and is a big fan of women's fiction, psychological suspense and mystery novels. She also enjoys watching classic suspense movies. She loves strong heroines, heroes with character, romance stories and a good whodunit by the fire on a rainy night.
Her heritage is a blend of English and Irish — which is probably where the gift of blarney comes from. She is unmarried, but involved with a wonderful man. She also has a little white cat named Sheena.
Whenever she is not writing, she travels as much as time and finances will allow. After North America, Europe is her favorite continent to explore, because it was in those countries that many of the myths and legends she drew upon in her early years of writing were born.
Growing up, she considered various careers and dabbled in several of them, including, after university, the travel industry, tourism, sales and modeling. Work in the fashion industry in Toronto and Montreal gave her an interesting peek into various aspects of that world. She learned that where money, power and people come together, there will always be unpredictability — an element she feels is essential to a strong mystery. Add a healthy measure of personal conflict, an intriguing setting and a spicy romance into the mix, and you have the ingredients for what she believes to be the best of all possible stories — a great romantic suspense.
She enjoys reading and is a big fan of women's fiction, psychological suspense and mystery novels. She also enjoys watching classic suspense movies. She loves strong heroines, heroes with character, romance stories and a good whodunit by the fire on a rainy night.
Her heritage is a blend of English and Irish — which is probably where the gift of blarney comes from. She is unmarried, but involved with a wonderful man. She also has a little white cat named Sheena.
Whenever she is not writing, she travels as much as time and finances will allow. After North America, Europe is her favorite continent to explore, because it was in those countries that many of the myths and legends she drew upon in her early years of writing were born.
Growing up, she considered various careers and dabbled in several of them, including, after university, the travel industry, tourism, sales and modeling. Work in the fashion industry in Toronto and Montreal gave her an interesting peek into various aspects of that world. She learned that where money, power and people come together, there will always be unpredictability — an element she feels is essential to a strong mystery. Add a healthy measure of personal conflict, an intriguing setting and a spicy romance into the mix, and you have the ingredients for what she believes to be the best of all possible stories — a great romantic suspense.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 10, 2016
Fantastic and original "Harlequin Intrigue" about a murderer on the loose in a Puppet Theater! I really enjoy Jenna Ryan's "Intrigue's", her storylines are always very interesting and different than the usual, and this story was no exception.
Twenty-four-year-old Katarina Lacroix, a beautiful dark-haired Creole beauty from New Orleans, works in Paris as a tour guide by day (in the Puppet Museum) and a performance-puppet by night on stage at the Puppet Theater. She is in a production which re-enacts the centuries old story/legend of Giovanni Verrone (puppeteer and creator of the Puppet Theater who created a puppet, Mignon, fell in love with her, and as legend has it, brought her to life only to have her leave him alone to live in the underground vaults of the Puppet Theater. It is said his ghost still roams the dark vaults beneath the theater.)
Katarina eventually meets handsome Raul Sennett who is currently hiding/living in the underground vaults. He is accused of murdering a staff member of the puppet theater and the police are looking for him. (Raul is from Spain and was originally hired to restore the beautiful theater to it's original grandeur.) He didn't commit the murder and he's looking for proof that someone upstairs did what he is accused of doing.
With an interesting cast of characters/suspects, including the crazy (and unknown) murderer, "the puppet master", this was a totally fun and entertaining read! It kept me turning the pages, wondering what was going to happen next. It also had some slight similarities to "Phantom of the Opera".
A thoroughly enjoyable story with a great backdrop (the Paris Puppet Theater-Museum with it's dark underground vaults), good atmosphere, a strong heroine, a handsome hero, and some strange secondary characters. Fun, unusual read!
Twenty-four-year-old Katarina Lacroix, a beautiful dark-haired Creole beauty from New Orleans, works in Paris as a tour guide by day (in the Puppet Museum) and a performance-puppet by night on stage at the Puppet Theater. She is in a production which re-enacts the centuries old story/legend of Giovanni Verrone (puppeteer and creator of the Puppet Theater who created a puppet, Mignon, fell in love with her, and as legend has it, brought her to life only to have her leave him alone to live in the underground vaults of the Puppet Theater. It is said his ghost still roams the dark vaults beneath the theater.)
Katarina eventually meets handsome Raul Sennett who is currently hiding/living in the underground vaults. He is accused of murdering a staff member of the puppet theater and the police are looking for him. (Raul is from Spain and was originally hired to restore the beautiful theater to it's original grandeur.) He didn't commit the murder and he's looking for proof that someone upstairs did what he is accused of doing.
With an interesting cast of characters/suspects, including the crazy (and unknown) murderer, "the puppet master", this was a totally fun and entertaining read! It kept me turning the pages, wondering what was going to happen next. It also had some slight similarities to "Phantom of the Opera".
A thoroughly enjoyable story with a great backdrop (the Paris Puppet Theater-Museum with it's dark underground vaults), good atmosphere, a strong heroine, a handsome hero, and some strange secondary characters. Fun, unusual read!
December 19, 2016
"Today I'm a teller of tales. Tomorrow, who knows? I live in the vaults beneath the Puppet Theater, but no one know exactly where. Sometimes I go up and wander through the streets of Paris, but not so much now as when I was young.
"Now I will tell you a story, and maybe when I'm finished, I'll be wiser than I am at this moment."
FINAL DECISION: Seemed like a great idea, but most of the story was the mystery with little in the way of romance. The couple seemed already set immediately and there was no real story between them. An okay read, but not one I would pick up again.
THE STORY: Raul Sennett lives in an underground lair beneath the Paris Puppet Theater. He spends his time watching the new human puppet Katarina Lacroix. He wants her and lures her beneath the theater. But Raul has secrets which keep him confined in his lair. Katarina has her own secrets and tragedies which sent her fleeing to Paris. Now the two navigate the secrets and shadows surrounding them.
OPINION: I was disappointed in this book because I expected something more than I got. The entire book is mystery with little romance involved. I'd term it a suspense book with a small smattering of relationship. The description seemed like it would be moody romance based on the Phantom of the Opera theme, but instead, the story was all mystery.
I just didn't care enough about the solution of the story. The book was well written and had some creepy vibes to it as it tilted between mystery, suspense and paranormal. I just wish there was more romance involved.
WORTH MENTIONING: This book has a strange paranormal vibe to it.
CONNECTED BOOKS: This book is a standalone.
STAR RATING: I give this book 3 stars.This review was originally posted on Top10RomanceBooks.com
"Now I will tell you a story, and maybe when I'm finished, I'll be wiser than I am at this moment."
FINAL DECISION: Seemed like a great idea, but most of the story was the mystery with little in the way of romance. The couple seemed already set immediately and there was no real story between them. An okay read, but not one I would pick up again.
THE STORY: Raul Sennett lives in an underground lair beneath the Paris Puppet Theater. He spends his time watching the new human puppet Katarina Lacroix. He wants her and lures her beneath the theater. But Raul has secrets which keep him confined in his lair. Katarina has her own secrets and tragedies which sent her fleeing to Paris. Now the two navigate the secrets and shadows surrounding them.
OPINION: I was disappointed in this book because I expected something more than I got. The entire book is mystery with little romance involved. I'd term it a suspense book with a small smattering of relationship. The description seemed like it would be moody romance based on the Phantom of the Opera theme, but instead, the story was all mystery.
I just didn't care enough about the solution of the story. The book was well written and had some creepy vibes to it as it tilted between mystery, suspense and paranormal. I just wish there was more romance involved.
WORTH MENTIONING: This book has a strange paranormal vibe to it.
CONNECTED BOOKS: This book is a standalone.
STAR RATING: I give this book 3 stars.This review was originally posted on Top10RomanceBooks.com
October 4, 2017
In 1992, a woman telling a man that he looks like Yanni is a compliment. Must have been an interesting time.
Like other Harlequin Intrigue books from around that time, it has its cheesy factors. Nonetheless, Jenna Ryan's old school horror themes are a delight.
The plot pays heavy homage to The Phantom of the Opera. The male protagonist, Raul, has been falsely accused of murder, and has taken refuge in the hidden passages within the theater that is a large part of his life. He falls for Katarina Lacroix, the star dancer in the latest show, and the possible target of the real killer.
The fact that Raul is hiding at the theater turns into the worst kept secret in history, but most of the theater people who know him know he's innocent in their usual easy-going Bohemian way. Kat is one of the first people to discover him, but while she remains slightly wary of him, she is not an extremely fearful person. As it turns out, Raul is not the theater's only secret. It has a dark history full of ghosts and tales of revenge, and with that history hangs the threat that Raul and Kat might become yet another tragedy.
Like other Harlequin Intrigue books from around that time, it has its cheesy factors. Nonetheless, Jenna Ryan's old school horror themes are a delight.
The plot pays heavy homage to The Phantom of the Opera. The male protagonist, Raul, has been falsely accused of murder, and has taken refuge in the hidden passages within the theater that is a large part of his life. He falls for Katarina Lacroix, the star dancer in the latest show, and the possible target of the real killer.
The fact that Raul is hiding at the theater turns into the worst kept secret in history, but most of the theater people who know him know he's innocent in their usual easy-going Bohemian way. Kat is one of the first people to discover him, but while she remains slightly wary of him, she is not an extremely fearful person. As it turns out, Raul is not the theater's only secret. It has a dark history full of ghosts and tales of revenge, and with that history hangs the threat that Raul and Kat might become yet another tragedy.
October 26, 2025
This was so funny, so interesting, and absurdly ridiculous. 10/10 no notes. (It helps that I was reading along with a comedy podcast to make it even more entertaining).
October 30, 2025
I read this book with Passages Podcast and laughed the whole way. What a twisty tale of puppetry!!!!
November 18, 2025
I did not enjoy this book at all. It was a chore to finish reading it.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews