I am a European-American male in my late 50s, and I don't generally read books that are labelled "romance", but I came across this one in the long list of books by Mary Roberts Rinehart, of which I had already read some good stories.
This is not the kind of story that I thought I would like, but the quality of the writing and the strength of the character development captured me. And now this is my favorite Mary Roberts Rinehart book, and that's saying something because I generally like all her stories!
Give this one a chance even if you don't generally read "romance" fiction. It is much more than just a romance.