This is the first book I read after discovering that Melinda Hammond = Sarah Mallory, but for some reason it's not the first review.

Like the other Sarah Mallory books I've read, the publisher's blurb says it all, rendering otiose any summary of the plot.

The plot, however, matters little. All of the books I've read so far have borrowed standard cookie-cutter narratives that have been used time and again in other novels. What makes Ms Mallory's books different is the quality of the writing.

Whatever plot she decides to adopt, whatever romantic relationship she chooses to develop, the result is a polished work of consummate artistry. Scenes and characters spring to life with just a few perfectly chosen phrases, and the dialogue could have come straight from an award winning stage play.

Not much of a review, I know, but I'm running out of superlatives. ( )