Title: Pale Moon Rider
Author: Marsha Canham
Read copy: Mass Market Paperback
Published: December 1, 1998
Publisher: Dell
ISBN: 0440222591
ISBN-13: 9780440222590
He lived by night—the dark, dangerous highwayman who stole her heart...
"It was a fine night for treachery, dark with a pale moon rising..."
Like a wraith he appeared in the Coventry night, the notorious highwayman called Captain Starlight. Renée d'Anton watched, breathless, as the cloaked figure commanded, "Stand and deliver!" and her coach shuddered to a halt. Little did he know Renée had come in desperation to meet him. For the dark, seductive highwayman was her only hope in a perilous game of chance...
She was pure temptation, challenging Tyrone Hart to steal a set of heirloom rubies and name his price. He couldn't resist her. So he agreed to risk his life for the fiery beauty—to recover the jewels that would free her from an arranged marriage and an unspeakable threat. But first Renée had to win his trust—even as she ignited passions that seduced him out of the shadows to sweep her into his arms...
My rating:
Renée d'Anton has a problem. She and her younger brother have recently come to England, escaping the French Revolution, and now her brother is falsely accused of attempted murder of their uncle in order to blackmail Renée into marriage. The only possible solution is running away, but she needs funds first...And she knows just the person to help her get them; the mysterious highwayman patrolling the turnpikes and roads of Coventry, the man they call Captain Starlight.
This was a very nice swashbuckling adventure involving a French émigré and the man whose heart she steals. Although the romance was nice, it didn't really blow me away, leaving the aftertaste of "how convenient is that". It was a bit too rushed for my liking and it didn't really sound true.
Otherwise, the characters were wonderfully drawn, especially Captain Starlight with all his idiosyncrasies, and the story had the added benefit of a wonderfully evil villain willing to do anything in order to gain his goal, and the cloak-and-dagger suspense sub-plot reminiscing of an "old" spy novel.
A very enjoyable read.
P.S. Plus, it mentioned the feud between the Wolf and the Dragon (Dragon's Blood rubies) and the Pearl of Brittany given to Eduard by Princess Eleanor. Nice little tidbit of continuity. 😉
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