Amanda Quick: With this ring ja Wicked widow

Amanda Quickin historiallisissa romaaneissa ei ole mitään erityisen omaperäistä, ellei siksi lueta jonkinlainen dekkarimeininki, sillä näissä kahdessa romaanissa selvitellään omituisia tapahtumia ja salaisuuksia. Muutamista yllätyksistä huolimatta teosten juonet ovat ennalta-arvattavia, eikä tekstikään kaikilta osin ole erityisen sujuvasti kirjoitettua.

With this ring (Bantam Books, 1999; ISBN 0-7090-6286-9)

Leo Drake, the "Mad Monk of Monkcrest," is notoriously eccentric and unquestionably reclusive. But he is also a noted antiquities expert, which is why Beatrice Poole has demanded his reluctant assistance.

The freethinking authoress of "horrid novels," Beatrice is searching for the Forbidden Rings of Aphrodite, a mythic treasure she suspects played a role in her uncle's death. Beatrice finds Leo every bit as fascinating as one of the heroes in her novels--and she's convinced he's the only one who can help her. But after only five minutes in her company, Leo is sure he's never met a woman more infuriating...and more likely to rescue him from boredom.

Yet the alliance may well prove to be the biggest mistake of their lives. For a villain lurks in London, waiting for the pair to unearth the Forbidden Rings--knowing that when they do, that day will be their last.

Wicked widow (Piatkus, 2008; ISBN 978-0-7499-3930-4)

Madeline Deveridge is aware of the whispers behind her back, the rumors that she dispatched her husband to the next world and concealed her crime. But she has a far more pressing problem than her reputation as the Wicked Widow. It's impossible to believe that her late husband is haunting her and her aunt, but something odd is happening, and Madeline doesn't dare take chances.

Summoning the brilliant, reclusive Artemas Hunt, secret owner of London's favorite pleasure pavilions and master of arcane talents, she blackmails him into providing help. As soon as the bargain is struck, Artemas and Madeline find their arrangement complicated by searing desire, and the frightening recognition that the ghost poses a very real danger. Now they must plunge into a world of intrigue and ancient mysteries, where a calculating killer — and a tantalizing passion — will not be denied.