One Night in Scotland »

Karen Hawkins is the USA Today bestselling author of a dozen historical romance novels. When not stalking hot Australian actors, getting kicked out of West Virginia (thanks to the antics of her extended family), and adding to her considerable shoe collection, Karen spends her time warming her feet on her narcoleptic golden retriever while writing her next book. She lives in Florida.

Karen welcomes fan mail and can be reached at P. O. Box 149924, Orlando, FL 32814. Please visit her website at www.karenhawkins.com.

New York Times bestselling author Karen Hawkins begins a sparkling new series with this thrilling tale of a desperate beauty on an urgent quest, a dark earl scarred by his beastly past—and the ancient treasure that binds their fates.

A mysterious abductor . . . Someone is holding her brother prisoner in exchange for a gold-and-onyx box covered in mysterious runes, so Mary Hurst boldly sets out from the family vicarage to find the priceless artifact. But the man who possesses it, Angus Hay, the Earl of Erroll, is less than sympathetic to her plight.

A forbidding stranger . . . Himself a prisoner of his dark past, Angus refuses to yield the box—or allow Mary to leave! Suspicious of the alluring lass’s mission, he vows to wrest a confession from her, but unearths a fiery temper and a will as strong as his own.

An unbreakable curse . . . Passion flares between them, but now there is more at stake: an unknown enemy is hunting down the precious box, and will stop at nothing. Risking all for love, Angus must solve the mystery behind the runes . . . and trust the only woman who can awaken his forgotten heart.

Publishers Weekly

Hawkins brings back the Hurst siblings (familiar from The Laird Who Loved Me and Sleepless in Scotland) to launch her Hurst Amulet series. Scholarly Mary Hurst seeks out Angus Hay, earl of Errol, to retrieve an artifact for her brother Michael, the unwilling guest of an Egyptian sulfi. Angus distrusts Mary and locks her away until he can corroborate her claim. As Mary noisily disrupts the household from her turret prison, Angus reluctantly comes to find her attractive. Once he frees her, the two engage in entertaining repartee that finally advances their relationship. Hawkins offers only subtle clues about the Hurst Amulet, delivered via letters purportedly from Michael, who also offers clichéd life-lessons from afar ("Knowledge and action combined can win over any adversity"). Mary is charming and witty, but her story mostly comes across as a setup for future books featuring her brothers. (Dec.)