2.0 out of 5 stars
So-so plot, one-dimensional characters, May 20 2000
This review is from: Unscrupulous Uncle (Paperback)
I'm beginning to notice a distinct trend with Allison Lane books: while the hero and heroine are (usually) reasonably well portrayed, the secondary and subsidiary characters are one-dimensional and in some cases unbelievable black-and-white caricatures. Lane writes villains with no redeeming features whatsoever - which is somewhat unrealistic - and with, in some cases, no credible motivation at all for their villainy.
In this case, Catherine is left alone when her brother is killed; her brother's best friend, who she'd expected would at least check that she was all right, completely ignored her. Her brother's heir (the eponymous uncle) arrives at the family estate and, telling Catherine that there is no money left for her dowry, turns her into an unpaid servant for the family. Of course, as we quickly discover, her unredeemably wicked uncle and his wife have been destroying letters, have told the brother's friend (Damon, Lord Devlin) that Catherine was engaged to be married, and have usurped all her money.
Not too incredible so far, I suppose, and this is after all a fairly common - even cliched - plot-line in some historical romances. But Lane builds upon this with embezzlement, murder attempts, misunderstanding upon misunderstanding and just about every cliched plot twist imaginable. By the time the book ended I was almost confidently expecting yet another kidnap or something.
Having now read three Regency romances by Lane, and having made the same criticisms of her secondary characters and cliched plot devices in each, I have now come to the conclusion that she should really be writing Gothic novels. At least in this genre caricatured villains are expected, and the more cliched the better.
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