The Truth About Love

Gerrard Debbington arrives at Hellebore Hall wanting to paint its legendary gardens, not to produce a portrait of the reclusive Jacqueline Tregonning. But the woman he expects, a conventional heiress to be endured, turns out to have a passionate nature that strikes genuine sparks, and Gerrard finds himself pulled from the paintings and into the household's dark secrets: something at Hellebore Hall is targeting Jacqueline, and what began as artistic commission has become a matter of survival. Stephanie Laurens's twelfth Cynster novel manages the balance between romance and Gothic suspense with characteristic assurance.

Matthew Brenher narrates with a period formality that suits the Cornwall setting and the Cynster world's particular social atmosphere. His handling of the romantic tension between Gerrard and Jacqueline is calibrated, giving their slow discovery of each other the patience the novel earns, while his rendering of the household's menacing undertones keeps the suspense thread properly taut. At just under seventeen hours, The Truth About Love is a satisfying full-length Regency romance.