This is the exciting sequel to Denial of Conscience, a modern Darcy and Elizabeth adventure of international intrigue. Romance, Suspense, Passion, and DangerSomeone wants to kill The Iceman, Fitzwilliam Darcy, and will stop at nothing to lure him into the open. Out for retribution, the son of an assassinated South American drug lord is seeking payback. His diabolical objective puts Operation … puts Operation Macarena into play by dangling bait guaranteed to entice his enemy. Can Darcy’s new bride, Liz, accept his decision to leave their tranquil life at Pemberley to resume the deadly profession he swore was behind them forever?
But are Darcy and Liz each fully satisfied with their simple, peaceful existence raising polo ponies and planning exotic vacations? Darcy set Liz’s spirit free; how can she resist the urge to ride on the wild side? Perhaps coming out of retirement is just what her husband needs because The Iceman never truly melted.
Without a Conscience takes readers on an adventure from the dangerous Peruvian Amazon Basin to the salacious underbelly of Parisian nightlife, leading toward a perilous rescue in Moscow.
Conscience or no, but propelled by love, Liz and Darcy re-enter the realm of international intrigue for the one and only thing they know is truly worth fighting for: each other.
Authors Note: Jane Austen wrote such wonderful characters, I borrowed their names and some of their characteristics to tell my own tale of contemporary love. Without a Conscience is a sequel, and I recommend reading Denial of Conscience first. Further, it is an original story that follows the lives of the characters of Denial of Conscience and therefore, not meant to be a Pride and Prejudice variation. This novel contains explicit sexual content. So if you are looking for a clean, canon read, this book is not for you.
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“I love those who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. ‘Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but they whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves their conduct, will pursue their principles unto death.” Leonardo da Vinci
First things first… Rating: PG-21: MA: Mature Audience: I-am-not-kidding, this is not for the faint of heart or those sensitive to triggers… any trigger. This story is no holds barred, graphic, explicit, and with detailed… I repeat… detailed descriptions. It is a P&P, James Bond, True Lies, and Fifty-Shades [BDSM] mash-up. I am just stating the warning/caveat up front before someone stumbles into this unaware. With all the warnings, there shouldn’t be any complaints they didn’t know what type of book this was.
The writing was magnificent and the research necessary for this story must have been exhaustive. The descriptions, of such exotic locations, makes the reader want to grab a passport and head for the nearest airport. Our author paints a beautiful picture with the descriptions of foreign sites, customs, and of course… what our dear girl was wearing or not wearing. The descriptions of military actions made my skin crawl as I began to see what our men and women in uniform have to do in order to keep us safe from our enemies. I also saw how easy it was for corruption to undermine the safety of our country as well as those men and women in the field. It was sobering to read of deceit, corruption, treachery, betrayal, kidnappings, and assassinations.
Gardiner skillfully broke up the angst and tension of our heroes in battle with the use of comedy as Jane and Lizzy learned self-defense. It was hilarious as we watched Lizzy grow into her new adventurous self. The scenes where she [while in various disguises] followed Caroline to Paris were hilarious. Poor Caroline never knew what hit her.
In her marriage of less than a year, Lizzy was learning to live with the softer side of Darcy’s Iceman persona. He was still James Bond-ish. I mean… I am so serious… this guy was breath-taking. Cat Gardiner sure can describe a man down to his skivvies… or without… yep… in detail… yahoo.
Mr. Bennet couldn’t seem to keep his hands clean and continued to dabble with techno gear on the side. Thank goodness it was for our side this time. His techno toys sure came in handy when D&E were in a tight place. Little did he know that his toys just may have saved the life of his favorite… and her husband.
Thank goodness, the angst, though amazing, didn’t drag too much as our dear couple [ODC] traveled the world to exotic places in search of our villains. And villains there were aplenty. The son, of a hit the Iceman eliminated in book one, has it out for Darcy and that story line will continue on in the next book. The other villains in the story gave ODC a mighty chase. Lizzy turned out to be a valuable asset to Darcy in this story and it was amazing to watch her become the well-honed weapon needed to save her husband’s life. On the one hand, she would do something completely stupid, and then she’d do something totally smart and actually made the capture of one villain possible.
Caroline was an unusual character in this series. She was perfect in this role. I loved reading about her actions. Yeah, she was still a b-witch where Darcy and Lizzy were concerned, but when she was working… there wasn’t a stone-cold assassin that could rival her. She was magnificent. I know… I hate saying it… but she was. Her skills were par none. She was a weapon unto herself and was amazing when in the field. Man… what a scary witch. There was comedic relief when she messed with Lizzy’s head regarding Darcy. Yep, that was a big mistake and one I doubt she’ll make again. Caro quickly discovered a whole new side to Lizzy when she crossed the line where Darcy was concerned.
We still have Jane and Charles learning to live, love and work together. I look forward to her growth within Obsidian and think she will be an asset in future stories. Rick [Richard Fitzwilliam] has an interesting story along with the new character that will be interesting to watch. I like them together. I also like the other characters [all with Austen character names]. They were so surprising to run across, what fun.
I imagine Mr. Bennet will become like Q [Quartermaster] in the Bond movies. Q ran the MI6 research and development department and supplied Bond with the toys that we loved so much. What Mr. Bennet developed for Obsidian was freaking awesome and saved Lizzy and Darcy when they were stuck in a tight situation. However, I was concerned about the purse that Lizzy dropped. I didn’t like that part. She said it contained her passport and nothing more was ever said about it. That freaked me out leaving behind something that important. Perhaps I missed that it was a fake name. Yeah, that was probably it… now I can sleep better.