The Water Nymph Hardcover - 2000

From the publisher

Michele Jaffe captured the ageless desire of the human heart in her "exquisitely dramatic" ("Publishers Weekly," starred review) and historically enthralling debut novel "The Stargazer." Hailed by Amanda Quick as "fast, clever, exciting," Jaffe's tour de force of sensual intrigue mesmerized critics and readers alike. Now Michele Jaffe steps into the shadows of Renaissance England for a sublime adventure of daring duplicity and irresistible passion.

Sophie Champion is caught in a most awkward circumstance when she meets the imperiously dashing Crispin Foscari, known as the Earl of Scandal. After all, the smart, strikingly beautiful young lady happens to be disguised as a man. And she happens to be standing over a corpse. Having come to seek the truth behind the suspicious death of her godfather, she finds herself instead caught in a tangled web of clues and deceit designed to implicate her in the murder. Only the Earl of Scandal himself can unravel the web -- and he has a mysterious agenda of his own. As suddenly as their paths crossed, so now are Crispin and Sophie locked in a seductive battle of wits and wills, mutual distrust, and magnetic attraction. Spiriting Sophie away to his home, Crispin presents her with a tantalizing proposition: they agree to pen their deepest desires, lock their notations away, and whoever discovers the true identity of the murderer first is granted his -- or her -- secret wish....

But neither imagined that the bold gamble would sweep them into London's darkest corners...or ensnare them in a clandestine ring of blackmailers. No longer trusting the promises of friends or the benevolence of strangers, Sophie and Crispin struggle to unmask agrowing passion -- and stay alive -- as they venture into a realm where love is a secret killer...waiting to strike again.

Michele Jaffe, who crafted "a racing read...a great first novel" (Jane Feather) in "The Stargazer," now takes her storytelling powers to new heights; crackling with sexual tension and sparked with intrigue and surprise, "The Water Nymph" establishes Michele Jaffe as a gloriously imaginative explorer of the timeless mysteries in the game of seduction.