Just back from India, where he and his mercenary band attacked the evil Lord Tallent's enterprises, Michael Keynes embarks on a campaign to destroy his brother, the duke. He takes up residence in an unusual "hotel" where his neighbors are Mira Holcombe and her invalid father.

Thrown out of their home by the duke and haunted by a past encounter with Tallent (aka The Beast), Mira has her own plan for revenge. When she meets Michael, she is taken aback by his resemblance to his brutal brother. However, she slowly learns that Michael is a different manone to which she is attracted.

Forces pull Michael to Mira, and when his brother is murdered and she becomes the prime suspect, he tries to confess to the crime. The dark, exciting, carefully constructed plot pulls you in like a moth to the flame. Lynn Kerstan's talents continue to reach new heights as she explores all aspects of the human heart: the good, the evil and the passionate. SENSUAL (May, 380 pp., $6.99)

Reviewed by: 
Kathe Robin