As the second son of the Duke of Levonzy, Lord Bramwell Johns feels like a second set of boots— a soiled, uncomfortable, and unnecessary set compared to the first, finer set of boots.  Based on these life-long feelings of inadequacy, Bram sets out to break every local law, Ten Commandment, and rule of etiquette he can manage. Indeed his favorite pastimes are gambling, drinking, stealing, and carousing with other men’s wives.

His secret hobby of being "The Black Cat" burglar satisfies his need to annoy his father and push the boundaries of society.  One night, after breaking into yet another house belonging to a friend of his father’s, he overhears the Davies family telling Lady Rosamund Davies that she must marry the cruel Marquis of Cosgrove to pay off a financial debt incurred by her younger brother.

For some inexplicable reason, Bram decides to take on the cause of saving Rosamund from this dire fate... that is, marriage to an even worse scoundrel than himself.  He decides to tutor her to make her transition to the dark side easier, and then eventually finds that he wants her for himself.  Getting her out of the situation and making her fall in love with him, however, prove to be substantial obstacles.  Luckily he has friends (from the previous two books in this series) to provide assistance.

Always A Scoundrel is book three in The Notorious Gentleman series, in which very dangerous men become less so when confronted with the right women.  The first two books, After The Kiss (reviewed on Myshelf.com in June 2008) and Before The Scandal  (reviewed on Myshelf.com in August 2008) relate to this story, but aren’t necessary for enjoying this newest addition to the series.  Once again, Suzanne Enoch presents a detailed cast of interesting characters—including some very nasty villains—involved in an intricate story of love, passion, scandal, loyalty, and redemption.