Lord Justin Belforte is a self-proclaimed scoundrel.  After years of being told so by his father and older brother, he has come to believe it of himself.  Now he is accused of treason, but this is one evil that he is not willing to own up to.  Sought by the law, he flees to the country to hide out until his name can be cleared, but he has a mishap along the way  in rescuing a woman and her dog, not part of his original plan, he is injured and loses his memory temporarily.

Catherine Meade has been ostracized from society.  During her coming out, she had the ill fortune to fall for a fortune hunter and in spite of the objections of her family, plotted to elope with him.  Caught before it was too late, the fortune hunter ruined her reputation.  Now she hides in the country, where she has been rescued by a mysterious stranger who doesn’t seem to know his own name.

A Dedicated Scoundrel is a well-told tale of two people damaged by their pasts.  I found myself wondering how Justin was going to conquer the demons that formed the man he had become, and the ending was supremely satisfying.  Ms. Barbour does an outstanding job developing her characters and making us care about their outcome.  A heart-gripping read, I would highly recommend A Dedicated Scoundrel.

July 19, 2008