Title: The Panther and the Pyramid
Author: Bonnie Vanak
Published in September 2006 by Leisure Books
Genre: Historical
ISBN: 0-8439-5755-7
Related Books: (1) The Falcon and the Dove (2) The Tiger and the Tomb (3) The Cobra and the Concubine
He was born in the lap of luxury, a state in which he did not remain. He traveled with his parents and brother to Egypt, and there in the depths of the desert, he came face to face with death, destruction, and the loss of everything he held dear. With the attack of the Al-Hajid, he lost his parents, his little brother, and was forced into a life of slavery, sexual bondage to a perverted and murderous sheik names Fareeq. The freedom he desired had to be close, and when the red-haired Englishman came to purchase Al-Hajid horses, he took his chance. He was not to have the luck needed to be a good gambler on that day for he lost, and so began the worst time of his life. The man used him in the same cruel ways he was subjected to by Fareeq, and left him with the bandits even though he knew he was English. It is said the desert will burn a man’s soul, beating and heating until the metal is forged strong and sure, and with a deadly edge. As the years passed, the boy grew to a man, a tall, dark, and dangerous man. He is a man who not only won his freedom, the very ones who enslaved him now fear him. He escaped into the camp of the Khamsin warriors, and there he made his mark. There he hid his secret. He is known as Rashid, Protector of the Lord of the Khamsin. His feats speak for themselves as he won his honor as a Khamsin Warrior.
The fateful day for Rashid came when the Englishman appeared at the camp of the Khamsin, bearing both news, and changing his life once again. He brought the news of Rashid’s true parentage, of the life he never thought to see or reclaim. He was given back his Englishman’s name, Graham Tristan, and taken back to a land where he was a stranger in a strange place. There is one upside to this whole thing in his view. There may be an end in sight to the nightmares he has been having, the terrors of his dreams, to the visions of the woman with eyes of emerald, and hair the color of blood. It is also possible there existed the chance he could even the score with the red-haired man who had used him so shamefully in Fareeq’s camp. That man, the man he hunted was here, lived here, and existed here for Graham to find. He has seen him in London before, but he had not been ready to face the burden he now wished to be rid of forever if possible. He has been haunted by dreams, nightmares of destruction, all tied up in the abuse of his past, and the life he had left behind. Gone were the trappings of the warrior, and now he wore the trapping of the British aristocracy from which he had come. Now he was no longer Rashid, protector of Jabari, Lord of the Khamsin. He is His Grace Graham Tristan, Duke of Caldwell, and he has returned home to claim what are rightfully his, his name, his title, his honour, and his revenge….
She is not going to be sold like one of her father’s horses, definitely not. She has plans, and they don’t include a husband who would be hand picked by her overbearing and cruel parent. Jillian Quigley has her own agenda to follow and she will succeed. She will escape, she will go to America, will study the economic theories she so greatly loves. She will NOT be ruled by a man who treats her and her mother as no more than the worst of possessions. His horses get treated with more respect, and even then he does not spare the whip. As a woman, she is well aware of her mother’s trials, and Jillian is determined that she is not going to be sold into the marriage planned for her. Instinct tells her the man chosen for her is no better than her father, and heaven help her, she is not ever going to suffer the abuse at the hands of a man. Jillian is determined she will not be treated like her mother, not suffer as her mother has suffered with her father. The best thing for her to do, is to lose her virginity. That way, no man, especially not the man her father is forcing her to marry will want her spoiled goods, and her father’s hand will be trumped. Meanwhile, any money she saves can help to take her away from this horrible life. There are plans to be made, help to be found, and then she can start on her road to freedom.
She has no misconceptions as to the ease of her plan, but she does have an ally in her mother’s sister. Jillian has long known her aunt has no time for her father, and she also knows she would do anything, to thwart her father’s plans for his niece. She could count on her aunt to help her escape the boredom and the despair being forced to marry Bernard Augustine would bring her. She knows the only reason the wealthy dullard wants her is the promise of a virgin bride, one who he can cow, and bend to his ugly will. Jillian recognizes in Bernard a man much like her father, and no amount of wealth can bring her to marry such a hateful man. She has a brain, she loves to study. Though some would call her a bluestocking, her dream lies across the water in Radcliff, the new school for women opened by Harvard University, in the American city of Boston, The money she earns is all going toward her passage and her new life there, and the thought of failure cannot be tolerated. The first step has been taken, now if only she can get the man out of her mind…
Hi all devoted readers, and welcome to the world of the dark, dangerous, and very sexy Khamsin Warriors. Adding to the previous three delightful books by Ms Vanak, we throw into the mix a fourth. With The Panther and the Pyramid, we have another wonderful look into the world of ancient curses, legends, and hidden treasures. Rashid has taken his place in the English society into which he was born, but carries with him the scars of betrayal and abuse suffered at the hands of an unknown Englishman. Now carrying his rightful name, and his rightful title, Graham sets out to discover the name of his tormentor, and dispense his own brand of justice. The first step on that path is for him to truly become a man, put aside his virginity, then fulfill his pledge to himself. The meeting of Jillian and Graham is fraught with all the mistakes two people can make and still leaves each with a memory embossed in their minds. For Graham, finding that Jillian is the daughter of his nemesis adds to his sense of destiny. Each has their own ghosts that must be laid to rest, each their own nightmares to battle.
The Panther and the Pyramid is another example of a finely crafted and tuned story of love, passion, treachery, and redemption. Told in brilliant tones and vibrant detail, Ms. Vanak tantalizes and enthralls the reader from the drawing rooms of England to the harshness of the Sahara, yet never letting the reader become bored or jaded. Exciting, sensual, unmistakably passionate and lively, the story of Graham and Jillian will warm your heart and engage your mind. Coming in September 2006 to Dorchester Publishing's Leisure Books, The Panther and the Pyramid is a stirring story that can only be told as two fight a common foe for the love, joy, and the trust they can only find and give to each other. I heartily recommend you keep your eyes open for this exciting and satisfying tale. Look for Bonnie Vanak’s The Panther and the Pyramid coming to a bookstore near you soon!
Yours in good reading,
Rose!
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