For a Scot's Heart Only

February 6, 2023
Conkle sends out her Scottish Treasures series with a brisk, sensuous Georgian-era romantic mystery (after A Scot Is Not Enough). Jacobite Mary Fletcher operates her business, Fletcher’s House of Corsets and Stays, while secretly working for a Scottish league to recover the Lost Treasure of Arkaig, gold sent by the French to support Bonnie Prince Charlie’s rebels. Mary and her friend Cecelia’s search takes them to a high-end brothel, the meeting site of a clandestine society, one of whose members they believe has the missing gold. While there, whaler Thomas West saves Mary from the clutches of a drunken sea captain. Their immediate mutual attraction escalates as Thomas gets roped into Mary’s misadventures—including breaking into the home of a lord—but even as love blooms, Mary remains wary of marriage. The lost Jacobite gold makes for an enticing treasure hunt plot and the intelligent, resourceful protagonists prove very well suited. This adventurous couple is sure to win readers’ hearts. Agent: Sarah Younger, Nancy Yost Literary.

April 1, 2023
A buttoned-up corset maker is forced to turn to a whaler for more than just business. Mary Fletcher's direction in life was set the day she and her sister were taken in by their mother's Highland clan following her untimely demise. Vowing to steer clear of romantic entanglements, a young Mary decided to devote her life to her clan and the care of her little sister. She continues to be motivated by the same goals as a straight-laced corset maker in London. A member of a league that is attempting to hunt down a lost Scottish treasure, Mary is sharply focused on her mission until she becomes associated with businessman Thomas West. Thomas has inherited the whaling concern started by his father and is struggling to keep the legacy afloat. Mary's league owes Thomas a favor, and when their paths cross while she's at a brothel searching for clues to the whereabouts of the Lost Treasure of Arkaig, he sees the opportunity to claim his reward. When they join forces, Thomas and Mary find themselves, perhaps for the first time in their lives, motivated by causes other than duty. However, to build a future together, they must first tackle powerful enemies who seem to be perfectly aware of their deepest weaknesses. The final installment in Conkle's Scottish Treasures trilogy sparkles when it dwells on the relationships between the women of the league and details their tussles with powerful adversaries. While Mary and Thomas' interactions with each other are entertaining and sometimes heartwarming, their individual tugs of war with a complicated and layered nemesis are most engaging. A romance enlivened by mystery and intrigue.

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