Silk and Secrets by Mary Jo Putney

From Barnes & Noble

This beautiful edition of Silk and Secrets -- the second volume of a remarkable trio of Victorian-set books by Mary Jo Putney -- is a real treat for readers who love historical romances with exotic settings. Lord Ross Carlisle was a scholar whose danger-filled journeys through Central Asia over the past dozen years had brought him fame and fortune, and enough challenges to distract him from the memory of his beautiful young wife's betrayal. But, just as he is about to embark on his next adventure, the handsome nobleman receives two pieces of news that will change his life forever. First, he's informed of his half brother's death -- a tragedy that leaves him burdened with an inheritance he truly never wanted. And second, he learns that his brother-in-law, Ian, has been imprisoned by the powerful Amir of Bokhara, a madman who is known for his hatred of all Europeans. Ross knows he should return to England, to spare his ailing father concern for the safety of his only surviving son. But both honor and desire urge him to risk one final adventure, a perilous and probably impossible mission to determine Ian's fate. Encountering his estranged wife in a desert stronghold along the way seems proof that fate has lately taken Ross in hand. For Ian's sister, Juliet, is now passionately determined to accompany the husband she once fled; and her unladylike survival skills and matchless knowledge of her adopted homeland offer the first faint glimmers of hope that the success of this mission will not mean merely returning alive with definite proof of her brother's death.

From the Publisher

A sensuous, richly-tectured novel from the award-winning author of Silk and Shadows. Free-spirited Juliet flees the confines of her Victorian existence to live in exotic Persia. But 12 years later, Juliet joins her estranged husband on a mission to rescue Juliet's brother, and the two find themselves renewing the passion they once shared.

Publishers Weekly

Set in the Near East of the Great Game, this sequel to Putney's Silk and Shadows switches focus from Mikhal Khanauri and Sara St. James to the adventures of Sara's cousin Lord Ross Carlisle. Carlisle, now Marquess of Kilburn and heir to the duchy of Windermere, is headed for Bokhara (currently Uzbekistan) for word of the missing Ian Cameron, brother of Ross's young wife who ran away 12 years earlier. En route he is rescued from maurauding Turkomans by his long-lost bride, Juliet, rather improbably dressed as a Saharan Tuareg and the accepted leader of a small Persian fortress. The two embark for Bokhara together, fighting the desert, hostile factions and each other. Putney works hard to get her facts straight, perhaps a bit too hard: considering Ross and Juliet's long acquaintance with Islam, Juliet's observation--``Since alcohol is forbidden to Muslims, there is no problem with the servents drinking''--seems redundant. Yet Juliet is a spunky, happily flawed heroine and nice counterpoint to the godlike Ross. (July)

What People Are Saying

Jayne Ann Krentz
A terrific romance...a page-turning plot...

Roberta Gellis
A romantic, exciting book -- I read it straight through!

Nora Roberts
A wonderful story...Ms. Putney just gets better and better.

Product Details