Narrated by Alison Larkin

Publisher’s Blurb: A woman compelled. A man obsessed. A love that defies king and country. In the glittering world of Regency England, Anne Wilder plays a dangerous game. A widowed lady by day, by night she becomes a masked thief preying on society’s elite. She roves high above London’s black rooftops, compelled by phantoms from her past to take ever greater risks. Until her restless spirit led her into Colonel Jack Seward’s trap…where seduction may be her only way out.

She’d played him for a fool, taking advantage of his hungry response to escape from his clutches. But as Jack hunts for the thief, his heart falls captive to a self-possessed widow. Torn between illicit passion and tender love, Jack is duty-bound to capture the audacious criminal, even if it means ripping society apart to do so. Now, he stalked her through the ton, never realizing the lovely widow who captured his heart was the same woman who roused his most violent passions.

My Take on the Story: One of my childhood fantasies was fueled by James Bond movies, no doubt – I wanted to be the cat burglar, dressed all in black, stealthily gaining entrance to lavish apartments, stealing jewels while people slept. (Or maybe an assassin, or a ninja.) So the plot of All Through the Night was right up my alley – Anne Wilder, respectable widow by day, Wrexhall’s Wraith by night, in a Robin-Hood-esque gesture to right the wrongs perpetrated by society. It has the elements of a modern thriller, with a stolen letter, whispers of treason, and a man whose finely tuned skills make him a cold blooded weapon. While Anne and Jack are the focus of the story, the intrigues play a major part. Skillfully done, as only Brockway can do it, and yet so different from her other stories.

My take on the narration: Alison Larkin has all the right narration skills. She uses a number of class and regional accents, and she differentiates well between characters. Her reading is dramatic and forceful. I can’t pinpoint exactly why it wasn’t an A listen for me. One of the traits that took away from my enjoyment was her tendency to read as if there were constantly run-on sentences – she pushed through, paying no attention to obvious breaks around semi-colons and commas and even periods, not every time, but often enough to be jarring. I also wasn’t satisfied with her interpretation of Jack, whose throat had been damaged in a hanging attempt; I felt it was too raspy and hoarse, unpleasant to listen to, although she was consistent. That was an acting and directing choice which others may find a perfect fit. She was good – really good – about 90% of the time and the other 10% pushed my own personal buttons. It was a thoroughly professional narration, just not my favorite style for romance, even romantic suspense.

Melinda