From Publishers Weekly
Again demonstrating her mastery of the romance genre, the prolific Holt ( The Captive ) depicts another heroine in distress. Davina Glentyre's cozy world rapidly distintegrates when her father, a wealthy, straight-laced Edinburgh banker, marries her new governess, the previous instructor having been accused of stealing a valuable bracelet. When Glentyre dies under suspicious circumstances, Davina is arrested for murder. The jury of Scots brings in a verdict of "not proven," leaving Davina's reputation severely damaged. Though she changes her name, Davina lives in constant fear of recognition, and decides to rejoin her dismissed governess, whose innocence she never doubted. Traveling to South Africa to reopen a school in the town of Kimberley, the two women make the journey with diamond merchant Roger Lestrange and his bride. When the latter falls ill, more than Davina's reputation is in jeopardy. Although Holt's heroine possesses the usual weakness, namely a naivete that borders on a learning disability, she is appealing, and the story, mixing danger and sentiment, should please Holt's many fans.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
YA-- Love, intrigue, and adventure fill the pages of Holt's latest historical romance. Davina, a sweet 16 year old of proper Scottish lineage, finds her sheltered life out of control when a strange chain of events puts her on trial for her father's murder. After an ambiguous court verdict of "not proven," Davina tries to escape her troubled past and travels to South Africa to begin anew. However, she gets caught up in the outbreak of the Boer War, and a sequence of unnerving and mysterious events begins to threaten the normalcy of her life once again. Holt's well-drawn and varied characters add an extra dimension to the plot. Whether describing the picturesque countryside of Scotland or the beautiful cities of Cape Town and Kimberley, South Africa, Holt once again offers her fans a spellbinding tale full of beguiling characters. --Nancy Bard, Jefferson Sci-Tech, Alexandria, VA
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
