In this fourth book of the Pink Carnation series, The Seduction of the Crimson Rose, Lauren Willig continues with the adventures of the Pink Carnation and her friends.  With a frame story involving an American PhD student doing research on her dissertation, Ms. Willig continues where she left off in the previous books.

Lord Vaughn is a mysterious man with a wicked tongue and even more wicked mind.  Asked by the Pink Carnation to lure the treacherous Black Tulip into exposing himself, Vaughn decides Mary Alsworthy will be excellent bait.  Mary is nearly as jaded as Vaughn, but is in desperate circumstances so she agrees to help.  As the two work together, their need for each other grows, putting them both in dangerous positions, and even more vulnerable to the Black Tulip.

We had met Vaughn and Mary in previous books, and neither was especially sympathetic upon first reading.  But Ms. Willig uses a deft hand to make the reader root for both of them, not just as people but as a fitting romance.  The barbs between the two of them are clever and biting, and only prove that Ms. Willig is a master storyteller.  With lots of stories left to tell, I look forward to many more Pink Carnation mysteries to come.