Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1732774 in Books
• Published on: 2001-06-26
• Original language: English
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 432 pages

From Amazon.com
In The Water Nymph, Michele Jaffe meets the standard of steamy passion, tense mystery, and historical detail that made last year's debut, The Stargazer, such a success. In this novel, our hero, Crispin Foscari (the "Earl of Scandal"), and heroine, Sophie Champion, meet over the recently murdered body of her friend. (This is not the only similarity to The Stargazer, but hey--Jaffe knows a good thing when she sees it.) Crispin accuses Sophie of murder, but agrees to give her some time to prove her innocence. As they search for the true killer, Sophie and Crispin find their common interests extend far beyond that of a murder investigation, and some steamy passion develops.

This novel is sure to be a huge hit: its combination of suspense and passion keeps the pages flipping by at a fast enough rate to keep you cool on a Texas summer day. And did I mention the love scenes? Do not lend this one to your mother, but recommend it to your best friend, and sit back and watch her blush rise. --Nancy R.E. O'Brien

From Publishers Weekly
Like the Scarlet Pimpernel, outrageously handsome and brilliant Crispin Foscari, the earl of Sandal, who first appeared in Jaffe's The Stargazer, has carefully built a wastrel's reputation while making quite another as Phoenix, invaluable spy for her majesty, Queen Elizabeth I. Now, however, he is in a spot: he has been given only a little more than a fortnight to find the person who's accusing him of treason. Meanwhile, he is investigating a beautiful and brilliant woman, Sophie Champion, who is suspect in Elizabethan England because she has seemingly endless resources, is a heroine to the street people and may have had something to do with her godfather's death. Crispin is smitten, however, and Sophie assures him she is neither a murderer nor any kind of malefactor, but she cannot be sure that he is above suspicion. Their rollicking adventures, detailed lovemaking and spirited sparring make for a great read, despite episodes of purple prose and predictable plot developments. It is clear from the very start, for example, that Crispin and Sophie will wind up together, and there are far too many references to the heroine's "tender bud." And Sophie's station in life is a stretch of the imagination: she becomes exceedingly rich at age 16, but keeps her wealth secret; she buys an old abbey with a gorgeous room full of stained glass, and fills it with needy women. And she's beautiful to boot. Still, Jaffe's second historical romance marks her as a writer to watch. While the novel calls for a bit more suspension of disbelief than readers may be willing to give, the protagonists are captivating, and one hopes that Jaffe will focus next on Crispin's intriguing family.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
In this second book about the Foscari family of Renaissance adventurers (following Jaffe's successful debut with The Stargazer), Jaffe sets the action in London. Crispin Foscari, the "Earl of Scandal," has recently been dismissed from Elizabeth I's undercover service, where he was known as "The Phoenix," a clever and ruthless operative about whom legends abound. In his quest to discover who has maligned him to the queen, he encounters a beautiful heiress disguised as a Spanish nobleman just as she discovers a dead body with her own pistol planted on it. This first murder begins an endless trail of blackmail and secrets from both main characters' pasts. It seems as if every page introduces a new character with a possibly nefarious secret, yet the result is confusion rather than suspense, and the reader never truly grows to care about the characters. The quirks of secondary figures seem tiresome rather than endearing, while the habits of speech that made characters seem quaint in The Stargazer seem out of place here, and the pronounced sensuality can't save it. Not recommended.AKim Uden Rutter, Lake Villa District Lib., IL
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.