Surrender the Dream by Debra Dier

Torrie is sort of an interesting character. There were moments when reading this book that I got an Alfred Hitchcock kind of feel - because of the sexual elements, especially regarding the heroine. In a teeny way she made me think of the Marnie . She's a rich unmarried young woman being pushed to marry by her frigid Victorian, ideally feminine mother and by her mogul father. However, after being left at the alter by her jerk fiance, and after he tried to force intimacy, she is gun shy about getting involved w/ a man. She masquerades as a tough old lady and helps raid brothels to help young women forced into prostitution. The hero - Spence - is perfect for Torrie. Honestly when reading this I kept picturing James Garner. He's a man's man - kind of like one of Lisa Kleypas's businessman heroes. But he is an honorable man who can be soft when a woman needs softness. The two baddies in this - the madam of the local brothel and the guy kingpin are both totally evil. The real identity of the guy bad guy - throughout the book he is referred to as "Slattery" - is a shock. Great evolution of the heroine. Only a few minutes of banging my head against the wall toward the end when the hero/heroine didn't reveal feelings to each other and almost pushed each other way.