Affair

Affair by Amanda Quick, Bantam Books 1997

     Charlotte Arkendale and Baxter St. Ives have one thing in common, their search for a murderer. Charlotte is a resourceful woman, on the shelf in Regency England at twenty five years old and in business looking into the background of potential suitors for women. One of her recent clients is murdered and Charlotte believes it must have been one of the suitors she recently rejected.
     Baxter St. Ives is the bastard son of an earl, a gentleman with a passion for chemistry and a logical investigator. When his aunt asks him to look into her friend's murder the path points to Charlotte. He engages himself as her man-of-affairs and bodyguard, but it quickly becomes clear Charlotte is not the murderer.
     As the pair continues their investigation they discover a passion neither expected. They become lovers as well as partners.When their quarry attempts to break the connection between Charlotte and St. Ives they begin to think their murderer is not a rejected suitor, but something much more dangerous.
     To allow Charlotte to move in society and to provide a plausible reason for the significant amount of time she spends with St. Ives, the pair announce their engagement. The only people aware of the engagement's fraudulence are those aware of the murder investigation: Charlotte's sister and housekeeper, and St. Ives's aunt. So when they are attacked and their relationship is challenged, the motive seems to be completely separate from their investigation.
     When a villain from their separate pasts reappears with a plan to upset the status quo and destroy them both in the process, Charlotte and St. Ives realize that their feelings are more powerful than either thought at first. They manage to find the murderer and the story is wrapped up leaving few questions and several hopes for Charlotte and St. Ives's joint future.
     Affair is a romance novel, more appropriate for more mature readers and generally aimed at women. There are explicit scenes, however the general story arc has merit aside from the romantic fantasy.