The Lure of the Mask

On a bitter January night in New York, John Hillard sits by his window dreaming of European hills and vineyards, far from the grim city's rows of ugly architecture. Then, out of the fog, comes a voice. A soprano, rich and mysterious, singing a forgotten aria from a light opera. He is transfixed. What begins as enchantment becomes an obsession. Hillard descends into the fog-shrouded streets in pursuit of the singer, only to learn she is Leddy Lightfinger - a woman whispered to be a thief, a phantom wrapped in rumor and shadow. The voice that promised romance now carries an edge of danger. MacGrath orchestrates a seductive dance between desire and dread, as Hillard must unmask the woman before she vanishes completely. The novel pulses with early twentieth-century glamour: gaslight, masked balls, the thrill of the unknown. It was the fourth-best selling book in America in 1908, and it's not hard to see why. This is romantic adventure at its most intoxicating - a man chasing a voice through a city of strangers, unsure whether he'll find love or ruin. For readers who want to be swept off their feet.