The Beautiful Stranger is the third book in the Rogues of Regent Street series, but if you haven’t read the others, not to worry; I hadn’t either and it didn’t detract from Arthur and Kerry’s story one bit.

Arthur Christian still feels tremendous guilt over his friend Philip’s death. He believes that there was something he could have done to stop the duel between Phillip and their other friend Adrian (whose own story is told in the first book of the series, The Dangerous Gentleman. Phillip seemingly provoked the duel and none of the Rogues know why. When Phillip’s father angrily confronts Arthur with the news that one of Phillip’s last investments went badly, Arthur feels guilty enough to take responsibility for it. Phillip invested in land and cattle in the Scottish Highlands. The investment soured and this could put a black mark on Phillip’s name, according to his father. Phillip, by all accounts, was a pretty debauched character. But Arthur still feels duty-bound to rectify matters, so he decides to journey north and see to it personally.

Kerry McKinnon has just received a rather disturbing letter; or rather she’s received two of them. One is from her religious zealot of a mother condemning her and ordering her to Glasgow. The other is from the Bank of Scotland – an eviction notice for non-payment of debts. Kerry is a widow and her husband Fraser managed to get them into dire straits financially before he got sick and passed away. He never told Kerry the true extent of their financial hardships, business dealings with Phillip Rothembow, or any of their debts. Kerry knew they had money problems but the eviction notice comes as a great surprise to her. Her first thought is to turn to her neighbor Cameron Moncrieffe, but after consulting with him she realizes she’ll need another alternative. After much arguing with her cousin Thomas, she decides to visit the bank and try and work things out. Unfortunately, that doesn’t quite work either.

Due to coach problems and the lack of good horseflesh, Arthur and Kerry meet on the road between Perth and Dundee. Actually, Kerry shoots him when she finds him going through her satchel. Here the story takes on the feel of a road romance and their adventures are amusing. Eventually they arrive back at Kerry’s home, Glenbaden. For the moment, they don’t realize that their problems are connected; Arthur has no idea that this was where Phillip’s investments were and Kerry has no idea that Arthur basically gave the eviction order. Once Arthur realizes it, he tries to stop it but it is too late. After Kerry runs into some trouble, Arthur decides to take her to England for her own protection – without revealing who he really is. I’m not really a fan of this type of Big Misunderstanding/Secret, and had a tough time coming to grips with why Arthur didn’t come clean earlier than he did.

Arthur and Kerry are already deeply in love with each other when they arrive in London; he is desperate to keep her safe. In doing this, though, he tries to make her fit the mold of London Society, which only serves to make Kerry miserable. She misses her home and fears that Arthur doesn’t truly love her but only wants to turn her into a proper lady. The secret looms large in the background, meanwhile, and Arthur and Kerry will need to overcome this, but to save a beloved family member as well.

The Beautiful Stranger moves along at a snappy pace and is never boring. Despite the secrets between them, I thoroughly liked Arthur and Kerry and had no trouble believing they were two souls who belonged together. The dialogue between them is, at times, terrific; their first scene together after she shoots him comes to mind. It was easy to see that they not only that they loved one another, but that they liked one another as well. And the relationship between the Rogues works well within the story; there is a touching scene among all three where they discuss Phillip and their lives. While he may never understand Phillip’s death, Arthur learns he has to make his peace with it.

Kerry, for her part, was a strong but not stupid heroine. She was incredibly obstinate and because of this did not always make the right decision. But she followed her heart, and it generally led her in the right direction. My one complaint with Kerry is that some of the problems she had with her mother were not resolved at the end; closure would have been nice.

All in all, The Beautiful Stranger was a very pleasant read and when I closed the book, I felt as though I were saying goodbye to friends. As I mentioned, I haven’t read the previous two books in the series, but I plan to rectify that soon enough.