Where the Heart Leads (Casebook of Barnaby Adair 1)

This is my first Stephanie Laurens novel. It started out okay but I quickly lost interest. The main problem with thte book was Penelope as an individual and her relationship with Barbaby.

Penelope wasn't in my opinion a likable character. She was smug and cold. Yes she ran the Foundling House but and seemed to care about the children but I overall she lacked warmth. What Barnaby saw in her was a mystery. I guess women who have other interests besides husbands, fashion and parties were really hard to come by. I dislike her approach to her realtionship. She was constantly saying I am curious, want to know more. Enough already! I wish she would have justed admitted that she was sexually attracted to Barnaby and stop with the clinical explainations as to why she wanted to have sex with him. Even the sex was strange. With the both of them trying to be the one in control everytime.

Another annoying thing about the story was that with the exception of two other characters neither Penelope or Barnaby interacted with other people. I thought it was very strange. Penelope neve had one conversation with her mother. She had no friends which given her attitude of I am so socially conscious and so much smarter than you I could see why she no friends. It was just really odd. Another strange thing was how she was allowed to run all over town without a proper escort. An indulgent brother or not unmarried "lady" did not come and go at night as she pleased.

Overall I thought it was bland story with annoying female main character and I would not recommend this story.

From all objective criteria, I should have adored this book. Smart female heroine; hero finds her sexy for her mind even more than her looks; mystery to solve that doesn't involve deep dark secrets of the lead characters. And I 'm a big fan of Stephanie Laurens and the Cynster series. What more could anyone ask?

That's why I was so puzzled when I found the book just average. (Granted, average for Stephanie Laurens is much better than a lot of writers manage.) I guess it was almost too intellectual and not enough emotional: Penelope wanted to have sex with Barnaby because she was curious, not for any emotional connection. (Not to mention that neither character gave any consideration to the prospect of her getting pregnant, though Barnaby planned to marry her even before they were intimate.) I don't read romance novels for the sex scenes: I want the romance, the vicarious thrill of two people (or two couples in the case of this book) falling in love. I didn't get that "zing" from this book, unlike many of the prior Cynster books.

However, if this is going to be the start of a series where the four main characters solve mysteries, I think I could get to enjoy it because the mystery portion of the book was much better for me than the romance part.

Where the Heart Leads is considered the 15th book in the Cynsters Family Saga, and although the Casebook of Barnaby Adair is mentioned on the cover, that is the true nature of the book. Cynster fans, looking for a story like the earlier passionate and heart stopping handsome Cynster males sensually pursuing strong beautiful ladies, made-to-be Cynster brides, may be left just a bit disappointed. That is not to say that Stephanie Lauren's most recent book is not extremely well-written with characters of depth, it is just that after a while the whole Cynster mystique gets diluted so much down the line of cousins and siblings of Cynster relations that the reader now has to expect something different; and this story is different, not close to the original fabulous Cynster novels that were written early on. Those will always remain favorites for romance fans and collectors.

No one knows the Regency Period and 19th century more than Stephanie Laurens; especially when she wrote a few Cynster novels with storylines about the rare and extremely interesting horse racing world that took place during the period. Now she entertains and educates readers further with her knowledge of what it is like behind the glittering ballrooms, gentlemen clubs, shining ladies in silks and rogues outfitted in Hessians and superfine. During this period there were those that suffered while others lived lives of leisure. In this book we see how the other side lives.

Portia Cynster started a Foundling School for Orphans that aids poor orphans after the death of their only living relative, which was the focus of another Cynster novel and mentioned in some of the others. Now after marrying Simon and running a house and having children of her own, the responsibility of the school has been turned over to Penelope, Portia's sister. A beauty, but considered a bluestocking and a bit overwhelming to many gentlemen of the ton, Penelope has been dedicated to her work and has never thought of marrying, believing she would never be able to find the type of true love other Cynster women have found, especially in her unique position of running the school and having a rare intelligence and deep calling for social justice. Her feelings about love, passion, and even marriage begin to change a bit after four boys due to arrive at the school show up missing and she considers asking the third son of a nobleman, Barnaby Adair, well-known for solving mysterious cases of the ton, to consider helping her find these boys. As soon as she knocks on his door late one night she realizes that she is drawn to the handsome and intelligent Barnaby, and is more thrilled when she realizes he understands, respects and is not judgmental about her school, intelligence and involvement in social causes. What a coincidence that the stunning and intelligent Penelope shows up at Barnaby's door just when he is sitting alone in his parlor nursing a brandy and deciding what to do with his life that was once exciting and now seems to hold no appeal anymore. To him it is love at first sight, but he knows he must move carefully and allow Penelope to realize they were meant to be together so that he doesn't lose her and his one chance at finally finding a woman that is his equal and worthy to be his wife.

Barnaby obtains the aid of his friend Basil Stokes, of Scotland Yard, and together with an East End woman, Griselda Martin, who worked her way up from the poor East End to becoming a successful tradeswoman as a milliner, the two couples work together to solve the case of the missing boys and the discovery of a burglary school that is snatching them away as soon as they are orphaned before they can make it to the school. The danger intensifies as murders begin to take place before the children can be orphaned and are snatched, while at the same time love and passion are blooming for the two couples.

This story is a delightful change for Ms. Laurens and hopefully the fans of the Cynster books will realize that there are just so many Cynsters and the originals and their storylines would lose being unique, if every story was similar. This book, like "An Unwilling Conquest," brings out the unique talent and unlimited knowledge base of Stephanie Laurens that expands way beyond the Cynster family.

Everyone loves an independent, no nonsense heroine who stands up for herself and what she believes in. But Penelope just got be annoying in my opinion. Maybe its just me, but at times it seemed like she was just being difficult just to prove she could and there was nothing anyone could do about it. I saw it as childish. And the fake ambush scene when she was trying to sneak into his bedroom...come on. Anyways, it was okay. Just more of a library borrow than a purchase.

Here's the thing about Stephanie Laurens....like most other long-time romance writers, she recycles plots (or at least plot points), but so what? In her case, she has created such wonderful characters amongst all her books in print (especially, for me, the Cynsters and their cohorts), that I don't much care about the repetition. I like her people, like spending time with them, and let's get honest here...Ms. Laurens does one important thing really well (actually she does several, but we'll focus on the obvious for a moment). She writes great sex scenes, and isn't that what we're looking for, ladies? Can we not be more honest than the men who claim to buy Playboy magazine for the articles?

She leaves little to the imagination, however she never makes me cringe. And compared to what's come from the pens (make that computers) of some of my other favorite authors lately (Garwood, McGregor, Kleypas, et al), this book is a bloody masterpiece.

I loved the character of Penelope in earlier books and always wondered how she would turn out as an adult. And Barnaby has also made some memorable appearances in earlier books. So seeing the two of them brought together, in a plausible and interesting way, while enlarging and enhancing them as characters (both individually and as a couple) has made for a darn good read. Plus the plot was different, interesting and believable vis a vis the characters. Not another "met one night at a masked ball, never forgot", or "forced into marriage of convenience, then fall in love", or whatever seems to be the favorite this past year.

Anyway, I enjoyed this, more so I believe for having read the earlier books. It can stand on its own, but why let it when reading the earlier Cynster stuff is well worth the trip? Thanks Stephanie.

Lady Penelope Ashford may come from the affluent influential Cynster brood, but she is no quiet debutante. Instead she works extremely hard trying to bring a better life to young street urchins of the London slums with her Foundling House charity. When four of her orphaned children disappear, Penelope believes they were abducted for a nefarious reason and wants them rescued. She knows who is best suited to investigate so in her take charge manner Penelope commands deduction agent Barnaby Adair to locate and save her children.

Barnaby is fascinated by the pushy but caring Penelope. However, he becomes a bit disturbed when she insists on accompanying him as he makes his inquiries as he feels it is not safe for her while she insists she will keep him safe by having his back. With help from his pal Inspector Basil Stokes of Scotland Yard, the duo seeks a burglary school for the young in East End slums even as the two sleuths begin to fall in love.

The latest Cynster tale is an excellent historical romantic mystery starring the usual feisty female and in this case a refreshing sleuth. The fast-paced story line focuses on the lead couple especially their joint investigation into the missing orphans. Filled with twists and red herrings, fans of the series (obviously) and those who enjoy the sub-genre will appreciate this tale of the heart from "the Casebook of Barnaby Adair".

Harriet Klausner

Part romance, part mystery, this follows the story of Penelope, strong-willed sister of Lucien who appeared in a previous Cynster novel, and Barnaby Adair, the sleuthing third son of an earl, who apparently appeared in another. Penelope is the administrator of an orphanage, and seeks Barnaby's help when a number of youngsters are abducted. Although Barnaby and Penelope are both confirmed singletons, as they unravel the mystery they are drawn together and although Penelope fights her attraction to Barnaby, but there is never any doubt of the outcome.

For me the story was a bit contrived, particularly the ending, and Laurens has already done this plotline to death. She writes quite well, and is reasonably adept at conjuring up the atmosphere of the post Regency era. However, the one attempt at humour in the book did make me laugh, but for the wrong reasons, since it concerns on the heroine's inability to open mussels. Had she succeeded, the book would have been considerably shorter, since she would have died of food poisoning - healthy mussels open when cooked!

It isn't a bad book, just rather predictable. And since none of the Cynsters make an appearance, fans of the series may be disappointed. I understand it's the first of a new series by Laurens - I doubt I'll be reading any of them.

I use to love Stephanie Laurens books but it seems like she is getting paid by the word now.
I loved her books until `What Price Love'. I stopped buying them for a while after several bad ones in a row and thought I'd give her another change.

I made it through 100 pages in 2 days with `Where The Heart Leads'. I found myself trying to rewrite paragraphs so that they weren't so annoying.
I generally read a paperback in 2-3 days.