Moonlight Mist

by Laura London

Book Overview

From the author of the beloved romance classic The Windflower comes a novel about a reckless girl, a notorious rake, and the rollicking scandal that brings them together-for better or worse. Known as... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0440154642
• ISBN13: 9780440154648
• Release Date: March 1979
• Publisher: Dell Publishing Company
• Length: 252 Pages
• Weight: 0.32 lbs.

Customer Reviews

In the tradition of Heyer

Having been a Laura London fan since the 1980s, I am blessed to have read (and own) all of "her" known historicals. It is evident this was a novel published during London's early years, and as such is worth reading, if only to see the metamorphosis of a truly brilliant writer from short novels to the masterpiece of the later published "The Windflower." According to the credits, this novel is a collaborative effort of the two writers who are (nom de plume) Laura London. As an earlier novel, the style and content is bright, witty and entertaining, but is obviously formative, and will come up short when compared to the deep and mesmerizing saga told in The Windflower. Lynden and Lorraine are 'poor relatives' in a rather unpleasant family. They are clearly unwanted and tolerated only as a "family duty." Thus, the two girls, who are very close, live largely unsupervised and enjoy great freedom for ladies of their era, as their invalid mother can't endure the stress of dealing with their exuberance and energy, and their uncle cares for them only out of a sense familial duty. Happily for all of them, act one begins with a convenient scandal that will take both girls off their guardian's hands: unconventional twin Lynden is married off to wealthy and handsome Lord Melbrooke, and she manages to persuade him to bring along her more conservative and quiet twin Lorraine into their new life together. A life which is wreathed in enigma and mystery. The mystery involves another family scandal---that of [Lynden's new husband Justin] Lord Melbrooke's rather creepy neighbor in the "castle" on the hill, and his unpleasant but beautiful sister, who once was Melbrook's mistress. What follows is a rollicking romp involving the twins, an illusive but handsome rogue with different-colored eyes, a slightly batty, deceased maiden aunt who left clues written in rhyme for a complicated treasure hunt, and yes---even the creepy villain's evil sidekick, complete with Frankish name and beefy stature, who naturally has an intense physical confrontation with the hero just before the story's denouement. Of course, all comes out well in the end, justice is served, the mystery is solved and the hero and heroine (among others!) go on to convivial bliss. This is an entertaining and harmless story, raised above the average by the author's unparalleled descriptive expertise and character insight. Truly, it is just too short a novel to enmesh a reader, and though the twins are lots of fun, they are hopelessly juvenile for this genre. In my opinion, part of the reason there is so little dialogue and interaction between hero and heroine is because madcap Lynden is rather more like a daughter to Melbrooke than a wife---and where can you go with that after all? It would have felt smoother if this book had been twice as long, giving the author the opportunity to develop the main characters into more mature adults. As it is, the emphasis is on the action and solving of a mystery rather than