Francesca Cahill Deadly

Irrepressible heiress and intrepid sleuth Francesca Cahill moves from her own glittering world of Fifth Avenue to the teeming underbelly of society, a place of pride, passions...;and sometimes deadly perversion. Despite the misgivings of her fiancé, Calder Hart, Francesca cannot turn away from a threat that is terrorizing the tenement neighborhood of Lower Manhattan. A madman has attacked three women, but while the first two victims survived, the third is found dead. All the victims are impoverished but beautiful Irishwomen-;andFrancesca fears that her dear friends Maggie Kennedy and Gwen O'Neil could be next. Soon she is working with her former love, police commissioner Rick Bragg-;Calder's half brother and worst rival. But even as Calder's jealous passions leave his relationship with Francesca teetering on the brink, Francesca is frantically on the killer's trail, certain the Slasher will strike again, afraid she will be too late....;

Called to the home of her fiancé's former mistress late one night, Francesca finds her curiosity piqued. But upon arrival, she is shocked to find Daisy Jones's bloodied body...;and even more devastated when the evidence points to one suspect-;her fiancé, Calder. Francesca cannot-;will not-;believe that Calder is capable of such an act. Still, she is unable to shake her instinctive sense that Calder is lying about something. The police are far less inclined to believe his innocence, and Calder is arrested for Daisy's murder. But Francesca's heart is not easily swayed...;until a life-altering secret is exposed that could destroy their future together.

On the morning of her wedding to Calder Hart, amateur sleuth Francesca Cahill is lured away to a private viewing of a portrait that could destroy her entire family: the nude Hart commissioned of her. Her desperate quest to recover the scandalous portrait leads her into a dangerous trap with no way to escape-;until it's too late. And when Francesca finally arrives at the church, it's vacant. She has unintentionally jilted Hart at the altar. When Hart tells her their estrangement is for the best, Francesca is devastated. With a blackmailer intent on destroying her reputation, Francesca turns to Rick Bragg, the city's powerful police commissioner. Together they scour the sordid streets of lower Manhattan, following a deliberately laid trail of clues in a race against the clock. And once it becomes clear that Bragg's marriage is failing, Francesca must war with her feelings for him, battle Hart's jealousy and escape a killer-;all as she fights to win Hart back. But sometimes, passion just cannot be denied...;.