Narrated by Corrie James
In the first book in this series, What the Duke Desires, we learned that Viscount Rathmoor had two families – two sons (George and Dominick) by his late wife, and a son and daughter (Tristan and Lisette) by his French mistress of twenty years. The viscount’s failure to provide for all his children leads to a last-ditch death-bed attempt to add a codicil to his will, but he is thwarted by George, who destroys it in front of Tristan and then orders him, his mother and his sister to leave the estate before his father’s body is even cold.
In How the Scoundrel Seduces, we see those events and subsequent fall-out from Tristan’s point of view, as narrator Corrie James paints a truly vivid picture of the dying viscount and his two sons, with George sounding immediately unpleasant and Tristan youthful and somewhat naïve.
Thirteen years later, Tristan has not forgotten George’s treatment of his family, including Dom – whose sympathy for his half-siblings caused George to cut him off – and is determined to make George pay for his callous treatment of them all. To that end, he is searching for Milosh Corrie, a Romany he had known in his youth, as he believes the gypsy has information which could help him to bring George down.
Unfortunately, his work for Manton Investigations (the firm he runs with Dominick) allows Tristan little time to pursue his own enquiries , but when they are engaged to look into a sensitive family matter by Lady Zoe Keane, it seems that Tristan may be able to kill two birds with one stone.
Tristan and Lady Zoe met briefly in the previous book (When the Rogue Returns) when he and Dom were working on a case. In exchange for her silence about their work and for making herself scarce quickly, Zoe extracted a promise from Dom that she could call in a favour at some future time. Even during such a short scene, it was clear that Tristan and Zoe were going to be an entertaining couple given his propensity to needle her, and her readiness with a quick riposte.
They continue to strike sparks off each other, right from their first meeting at Manton’s offices when Zoe arrives to claim her favour. She is, unusually, the heiress to a title in her own right, the only child of the Earl of Olivier, whose estates are close to the Rathmoor lands in Yorkshire. A female’s being able to inherit lands and title is very unusual (but did happen), and Zoe’s family is keen to make sure there are no doubts or questions as to her right to both by arranging for her to marry the American cousin who is the next heir. Zoe’s reluctance to do so leads her aunt to let slip that Zoe is not actually her parents’ child, but is the daughter of an unknown gypsy woman who sold her baby to the childless couple. The news is of course startling, and leads Zoe to request Dom’s help to find out if it’s true.
She finds Tristan’s attitude towards her to be very unsettling. He takes great delight in provoking her, and she dislikes his cynicism as to her motives and towards the aristocracy in general. He’s also too gorgeous for her peace of mind, not to mention that he has a rather colourful reputation when it comes to women; but the fact that he grew up around the Romany and can speak their language means that he’s ideally placed to conduct the investigation into Zoe’s past. He also plans to take full advantage of the opportunity it will afford him for asking questions of his own.
I’d been looking forward to Tristan’s story since listening to his encounters with Zoe in the previous book, and the terrific chemistry evinced there is carried across into How the Scoundrel Seduces. The pair can barely keep their hands off each other from the outset, despite Zoe’s determination to dislike Tristan and his antipathy towards members of the upper classes, which I suppose is natural given the fact that his half-brother tried to see him hanged for theft! As the story progresses and Tristan and Zoe learn more about each other, they are able to discard their misconceptions and form a real appreciation for their good qualities. Tristan realises that Zoe is not at all like so many conscienceless landowners who wring every last penny out of their estates and tenants and then squander it at the gaming tables, and respects the fact that she takes her responsibilities towards her dependents very seriously. Zoe comes to admire Tristan’s resourcefulness and to see how fiercely he cares for those he loves and how far he will go to ensure their safety and comfort.
Anyone who listens to audiobooks regularly is well aware of the impact a narrator can have – good or bad – on any story, and this is one of those times when I actually enjoyed the story more in audio than in print – which is due solely to Corrie James’ excellent performance. While those parts of the story with which I have issues – such as the fact that the plot turns on a couple of massive co-incidences, and that there’s too much telling and not enough showing at one key moment – I found them less of a problem when given voice by Ms James. She had me so wrapped up in the tale and invested in the central relationship that I almost didn’t notice those parts, even though I knew in advance they were coming. I also think she deserves a medal for the fact that she manages to maintain her composure when delivering a line in which the hero refers to his wedding tackle as a “beast” :P I hasten to add, however, that her performance in the rest of that sex scene (and others) is very good indeed – she’s a narrator who really gets into the swing of things when they start heating up.
Ms James’ narrative is well-paced, her phrasing is suitably and appropriately expressive, and all the characters are very clearly delineated using a wide variety of timbre and accent. Her portrayals of the characters we met in the previous books is consistent, and I was particularly impressed with her interpretation of Zoe’s cousin, Jeremy Keane, whose American accent to me sounded accurate and was certainly performed consistently. She captures Tristan’s thinly veiled insolence very well, the smirk in her voice being an accurate reflection of the smirk he’s described as wearing frequently in the text. Zoe sounds appropriately youthful, but is clearly no push-over, because Ms James injects a real sense of determination into her speech without making her sound harsh or unfeminine.
Even though I have a couple of reservations about certain aspects of the story, I’m going to recommend this audiobook on the strength of Corrie James’ terrific performance.
Caz
Narration: A
Book Content: B
Steam Factor: Glad I had my earbuds in
Violence: Minimal
Genre: Historical Romance
Publisher: Tantor Audio
This sounds really good!
I’ve rated these books more highly in audio than print. While I’ve enjoyed the print versions, Corrie James adds so much to the text that I’m not so aware of the issues I have with some aspects of the storytelling.
As always Caz, an excellent, entertaining and succinct review.
Aw, thanks Wendy!