This fourth instalment of the "Deadly Series" is way better than the previous ones (at least better than the first and third books, for I have not read the second). While the mystery story is typically simplistic and insipid (and in this case, incomplete too... perhaps the second mystery will be resolved in the next book), Deadly Desire has romantic intrigue in spades, with heroine Francesca Cahill feeling frustrated because of her mixed feelings towards Rick Bragg's half-brother, notorious ladies' man Calder Hart.


Joyce finally shows her gift for romance; finally we see romantic tension between the characters. More, from this tiny 'sample' of the love triangle that will be developing in future books, I think the author has a knack for writing difficult relationships. I always thought that, in a good love triangle, the reader must be 100% satisfied with the end result; meaning that the reader shouldn't feel sorry for the third person, even if said third person isn't a rotten villain. From the way BJ is setting things up, I think I, for one, will be quite happy with the end (*cough* Francesca and Hart *cough*). That, for me, is a mark of good romance writing.

So, in terms of mystery? Still not very good. But as for the 'historical romance' part, I definitely see some improvement. Deadly Desires is the best book of the series yet, in terms of romantic plot and writing style as well (if you ignore the fact that the author uses the expression "oh-so-addwordhere" a lot. This expression is very much a modern term and I doubt rich heiresses in the 1900s used it. But oh well.). ( )

Francesca makes a fascinating character. This is clearly romantic suspense at the dawn of the 20th century. ( )