Book Review: A Touch of Steele by Cathy Maxwell

A Touch of Steele, Cathy Maxwell's latest installment in her Gambler's Daughters series builds up steadily and perceptively to a clenching climax that keeps the reader on tenterhooks, coming to a satisfying happily-ever-after at its conclusion.  Set in Regency England at the close of the Napoleonic Wars, a gambler's daughter, Gwendolyn Lanscarr and former British soldier and recent shipping mogul, Beckett Steele, find themselves entangled in a dangerous game of family rivalry and survival.

Steele, desiring to find his family after being abandoned in a brothel as a little boy, and Lanscarr, desiring to find a partner in love, a partner to share life's adventures, and a partner whose unwavering loyalty will last her a lifetime, come together with the assistance of destiny's hand but their insecurities keep them apart.  The reader is taken along the couple's journey, watching them wrestle with conflicting emotions and struggle with family members and peers, who put doubts in the couple's minds.  

The duplicity of several characters mirror real life, leaving the audience wondering who is honest and who is not.  Who can the couple trust and who is deceiving them.  Even plotting to kill them.  The reader plays the role of spectator, a voyeur watching the couple's relationship develop, aware of moments when the two may separate forever.

Maxwell does alot of telling of the story, missing the chance to engage the reader emotionally, which keeps the audience outside the story.  Though she will skim over back stories and rush through some scenes, the twists and turns in the story are enough to hold the reader's interest until the end.  Maxwell's novel is a gratifying read that passes the time away quickly when waiting for someone or something.  It's a rewarding down time read.