Beneath the Moonlight Pale – Nicola Italia

Old sins cast long shadows… In the late Victorian era, steel magnate Solomon Stanford is a domineering tyrant whose will is as formidable as the metal he creates. He is a hard, cruel man known for his business prowess and feared more than respected. His daughter, Evelyn Stanford, is a kind, intelligent woman using her father’s wealth to create a village school to help the less fortunate children. When her father engages brash young solicitor Rafe Griffin as his general counsel, Evelyn detests the handsome man on the spot. Rafe is too much like her father, ruthlessly determined to have his way. However, Rafe is taken with the young beauty and finds himself drawn to her. But nothing is as it seems. As secrets from the past begin to surface, Evelyn is threatened with the knowledge that her father did something horrific. A shocking murder sets in motion a string of events, and a shadowy figure emerges set on enacting a vengeful plan. Rafe is concerned that Evelyn is the final target, and the list of suspects grows. But as the past encroaches on the present, Rafe vows to protect Evelyn at all costs and identify the killer who is hell-bent on completing their cycle of revenge.

This book contains:

Attempted murder
Murder depicted very clearly
Insinuated selling of daughter
Stalking
Arsen.

Evelyn is the daughter and only child of Solomon Standford, and his current heir to his empire that he’s ruthlessly built over his lifetime. Unlike her father, she’s kind, considerate and she wants to do good with her life. She wants to give back and help others make more of their lives than they might have thought possible.

Rafe is a young lawyer out to make his name and positions himself as Solomon’s right-hand man. There’s much about him we don’t know, and yet he’s drawn to Evelyn in a way he can’t explain and tries to deny.

Rafe and Evelyn cross path before Rafe arrives at her home to introduce himself as Solomon’s newest lawyer. As Rafe gets to know Solomon’s business, he’s inevitably around Evelyn more and more.

As they fight their attraction to each other, circumstances change, choices are made, and we’re lead on a drama and action-packed adventure across England and France.

Having read this so soon after one of Nicola’s earliest books, I could really see how much her writing has developed over time. Her ability to create a world you can almost feel happening around you is amazing.

While there are still elements of romance and sexuality, it’s more subtle and allows the reader to create their own images in their head while providing enough details to ensure what we imagine lines up with where Nicola is directing the characters.

But not only has she developed her ability to allow us to create elements of the story ourselves, but she’s also created a deeper level of emotional connection in the drama, horror and mystery that leaves you guessing what’s going to happen next. Not to mention, being so emotionally invested ups the ante for the reader that you can’t describe until you realise it’s 1am and you have to get up in 4 and a half hours.

Beneath the Moonlight Pale – Nicola Italia

Want more like this? Check these out.

Zealot – C. Vonzale Lewis

The Circle-A Killings – Sean Heary

The Highlander’s Secret Son – Jeanine Englert

Beneath the Moonlight Pale – Nicola Italia

Want more like this? Check these out.

Zealot – C. Vonzale Lewis

The Circle-A Killings – Sean Heary

The Highlander’s Secret Son – Jeanine Englert

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