Years ago, Maxwell Barrett found a map to Atlantis and dedicated his life to the search for the mystical lost continent. But when an alluring woman makes a wager for the priceless artifact, he may have discovered an even greater treasure. A descendant of Atlantis, Sabine Tobias needs the map to decipher an ancient prophecy. What she doesn’t need are the sparks flying between her and Max. He’s too devilishly charming to be trusted: The fate of her people is at stake as well as her heart. Yet a ruthless killer also covets the map. Now Max and Sabine must race to decode the prophecy’s riddle before this criminal fulfills his deadly mission.

The Elixir, sometimes believed to be the true Fountain of Youth, is alive and well in Robyn DeHart’s latest historical novel. Set in the time of Queen Victoria and built around the unending search for the lost continent of Atlantis, this novel taps into everyone who really likes a suspense novel set in a historical context and which brings alive a “jack the ripper” kind of killer with delusions of grandeur. Sabine Tobias and her three spinster aunts have moved to London to seek more information regarding the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy involving the descendants of Atlantis who were driven away from their homeland and came by sea to Britain. After generations of living hidden lives, there is evidence that the fulfillment of the prophecy will not only destroy those descendants as well as Britain itself and that fulfillment is close at hand. Sabine and her aunts have opened a cosmetic shop where they market their own concoctions, one of which contains just one drop of the Elixir per jar and which is blowing away the competition. It is also masking their presence in London for the killer.

But it is the hidden stores of the Elixir that the bad guy wants. And in the process he is seeking to build his army to overtake the true descendants of Atlantis and to, in a word, conquer the world. Oh my, what a dream!! Max Barrett discovered the long lost map to Atlantis when he was only seventeen years old, a younger son in an aristocratic family, seeking to prove to his family that he has worth that extends beyond the title and its glory. He winds his way home on that fateful day only to discover that his entire family has died in a massive fire that has destroyed, not only the family properties, but all of the people he loved. He is, when Sabine encounters him, a wealthy, lonely, distrustful, disillusioned, hurting, charming man. What happens between them is the sizzle; disentangling the mystery of who is trying to kill Sabine and her family along with stealing the Elixir is the suspense.

DeHart has long been known for her expertise in putting together a very good story. She demonstrates that expertise once again in this novel. She shades the dark characters just enough that the reader is left wondering who this person really is, why he has access to all these persons in high places, or why he can do what he does with such impunity. DeHart also constructs the character of Sabine and her aunts as caring, giving, careful, watchful people who bear in their souls the wisdom of the ages but who are willing to deal with one another and those around them with contemporary grace. Sabine, too, is seeking to prove her worth, as one who also bears the scars of family wounds. But she is a very strong and gutsy lady, willing to lay her own life on the line for those she loves. She is as skittish about becoming involved with Max as he is with her.

I really, really liked this book! I love the tension that the mystery brings to the novel. It is like adding just another layer to the sexual tension that permeates the story from beginning to end. In a word, I like these multi-layered novels that challenge the reader beyond the usual romance format. DeHart has done a great job and her readers will not be disappointed in this newest addition to her achievements.

I give this book a rating of 4.75 out of 5.

This book is available from Forever. You can buy it here.

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