Monsoon Mists — Christina Courtenay

It's 1759 and Jamie Kinross has travelled far to escape his troubled past â€" from the pine forests of Sweden to the bustling streets of India.

In India he becomes a gem trader, but when his mentor's family are kidnapped as part of a criminal plot, he vows to save them and embarks on a dangerous mission to the city of Surat.

There he encounters Zarmina Miller a rich and beautiful widow whose haughtiness has earned her a nickname: 'The Ice Widow'. When they meet, Jamie is instantly tempted by the challenge she presents.

But when it becomes clear that Zarmina's step-son is involved in the criminal plot, Jamie begins to see another side to her â€" a dark past to rival his own and a heart just waiting to be thawed. But is it too late?

Monsoon Mists is the final in the series about the lives of the three Kinross men. Trade Winds is the first in the trilogy followed by Highland Storms. All three can all be read as stand-alone novels.

Christina's prequel to this novel won the 2012 Historical novel of the year award. Her novel The Scarlet Kimono won the Big Red Reads Best Historical Fiction Award and was short listed for the Festival of Romance Best Historical Read Award 2011. The Gilded Fan is shortlisted for the 2014 UK's Historical Romantic Novel Award.