Rating: Good
Source: Publisher
Description: Elizabeth Miles finds herself in a position no con can help her escape. Her beloved fiancé, Gideon Bates, is awaiting his turn in the draft to fight in the Great War. Elizabeth is finding it hard to think of anything else, but Gideon has thrown himself into his work, preparing wills for soldiers before they ship out. Corporal Tom Preston is part owner of Preston Shoes, a company that is making footwear for the army, so he has a rather large estate. He needs a new will, however, because he has just been secretly married to a woman whom his family would never approve. He wants to make sure she and their unborn child are provided for if he does not return.
When Tom is later reported killed, Elizabeth and Gideon learn that the new will has gone missing after Tom's bride revealed her identity to his family. Unless the new will is found and validated, the original will, which leaves everything to Tom's brother, will prevail and the wife and child will get nothing. If Tom's new bride survives, that is. Some terrible threats have been leveled against her, and Elizabeth and Gideon must figure out a way, legal or not quite, to secure Tom's fortune for his wife and child while saving her life in the process.
Genre: Mystery - Historical
Why I Picked This Book: I've really enjoyed the two previous books in this series so I had to pick this one up!
My Impression: Victoria Thompson has this magical ability to bring the world of her books to vivid life and this series really shows that off. This isn't really a world I would want to live in but visiting it is fascinating. This isn't a standard murder mystery style book but instead dives into the world of corrupt relatives, missing wills and a con or two (or more).
I really loved catching up with Gideon and Elizabeth and especially her quirky and entertaining family. The story and pacing kept me reading and wondering just how this was going to wrap up. I did feel that the con got a little convoluted and the ending did feel a bit rushed. And while I did enjoy this read I didn't feel like I connected to it as well or as immediately as I did to the previous books. There's a 90% chance that issue was because of my mood. This is a great historical mystery series for those that are interested in this time period and aren't expecting the standard murder mystery. Elizabeth is one of my absolute favorite main characters and I'm looking forward to seeing what she gets up to next!
Would I Read More of this Series/Author? Absolutely! Victoria Thompson is one of my go to authors for a solid enjoyable historical mystery.
Would I Recommend this Book? Absolutely! I love how alive Thompson makes history seem and her mysteries are always solid and entertaining.
* I received this book in exchange for an honest review. As always my opinions and impressions are completely my own. *
I like the story and the cover is delightful. Sadly it is on a wish list for Netgalley and I haven't had any luck with the wish part of Netgalley!!!
ReplyDeleteIt does sound good and certainly worthwhile keeping up with. I do find my mood can impact the book I am reading too.
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