A lot of books start well, sag in the middle, and get steadily worse. A Dangerous Man is exactly the opposite; it gets off to a slow start, gains momentum, and is pretty good by the end. The last quarter is so enjoyable that you can almost forget the tedium of the first part. Almost, but not quite.

Mercy Coltrane is a desperate woman. She has come to England from Texas in the guise of catching herself a noble husband, but she is really looking for her brother. Her brother went off to England to sow a few wild oats, but lately all she has received from him are requests for money. She knows one person who can help her: Hart Moreland, Earl of Perth. Six years before, Hart worked as a gunslinger for her father and others. The last time Mercy saw him, he shot her in the shoulder to save her from a kidnapper. Now he is more concerned with seeing his sisters well married and protecting the family name. Initially, he refuses to help her find her brother, but she manages to convince/force him to do it.

There are other things going on. Hart and his family are staying with the Dowager Duchess of Acton, whose son is almost engaged to Hart’s sister. Mercy is staying with her too, and the Duchess is acting as her sponsor. All of the men in the house fall for Mercy, including the Duke who is supposed to be proposing to Hart’s sister. There are two “accidents” that almost cost Mercy her life.

The bottom line is that not much goes on in the beginning or middle of the book. It’s like we are waiting for something to happen. When the relationship between Mercy and Hart gets going, it’s great, but we wait far too long. Meanwhile we are stuck reading about their interactions with the secondary characters, all of whom are boring and selfish. There really isn’t a good apple in the bunch. I was longing for a sympathetic best friend for Hart, or even an engaging chambermaid. The villain is there from the start, so obvious he might as well have a giant “V” tattooed on his forehead. An obvious villain doesn’t necessarily ruin a book, but in this one it is just one more thing going wrong.

The good news is that once Hart and Mercy start depending on each other, they get more likeable. Hart is a pretty tortured hero, and Mercy is really good for him. The sex scenes are wonderful, and provide a real turning point. Too bad they aren’t earlier in the book.

Overall, the book has a very dark tone. The ending does a lot to lighten it, but it isn’t Ms. Brockway’s best work. Her newer books, particularly My Dearest Enemy and All Through the Night are both keepers and much better reads. A Dangerous Man shows some of this promise, but it doesn’t measure up.