The Third Circle

When a powerful hypnotist succumbs to the charms of a talented crystal worker, both of their futures are threatened.

Leona Hewitt, disguised in men’s formal evening clothes, has secretly made her way into Lord Delbridge’s private museum to recover a relic stolen from her family years ago. But someone else is there in the dimly lit gallery, on the same errand: a tall, black-cloaked man whose very voice is enough to put her in a trance.

Thaddeus Ware, a mesmerist with powerful psychic energy, is accustomed to fearful reactions from others - women in particular. After all, a man who can control the minds and actions of others could rob a lady of her virtue - without her ever knowing! But Leona shows no trace of hysteria in his presence. A force to be reckoned with as both a gifted crystal worker and a woman, she exerts a rather hypnotic power over the hypnotist himself. And she is determined to keep the crystal they recovered, by giving him the slip at a run-down London inn.

Thaddeus, on assignment for the secretive Arcane Society, knows the menace Leona is courting by absconding with the crystal. It is a source of remarkable energy, and it holds the potential for great destruction. Lord Delbridge has already killed two men to acquire it, for it is his key to membership in the elite, shadowy group known as the Third Circle. And with the help of a seductive hunter of preternatural skill, dubbed “The Midnight Monster” by the press, Delbridge intends to find her. With the stolen crystal in their possession, the danger is only beginning.

About the Author

A successful corporate and academic librarian-turned-author, Jayne Ann Krentz wrote serial romances for several publishers (including industry powerhouse Harlequin) before breaking out in the '90s as a writer of romantic novels. To say that she has been successful is an understatement: A New York Times- bestselling author with more than 23 million copies of her books in print, she writes three sub-genres of romantic suspense under three different pen names: contemporary romances as Jayne Ann Krentz, historicals as Amanda Quick, and futuristic/paranormal romances as Jayne Castle. (In her early career, she employed at least three additional pseudonyms!) In 2006, the prolific Krentz launched The Arcane Society series -- crossover thrillers written under all three noms de plume that feature members of a secret organization devoted to the study of the paranormal.

It would be hard to find a more passionate advocate for romantic fiction than Krentz. In 1992, she edited and contributed to Dangerous Men and Adventurous Women: Romance Writers on the Appeal of the Romance, an award-winning nonfiction essay collection that serves an eloquent apologia for the genre. She has also received the Jane Austen Commemorative Medal from Romantic Times magazine for her work educating readers about Romance. "The Romance genre is the only genre where readers are guaranteed novels that place the heroine at the heart of the story," she says on her website. "These are books that celebrate women's heroic virtues and values: courage, honor, determination and a belief in the healing power of love." Clearly, her legions of loyal fans agree!