Just delightful!

-

The Lady Travelers Guide to Larceny with a Dashing Stranger (Lady Travelers Society #2) 

by Victoria Alexander


                              


Widowed Lady Wilhelmina Bascombe finds that all was not as smooth sailing as she thought. It seems she and her husband had partied their way through life, incurring the sort of debts that fit their new extravagant lifestyle. Having paid off most of what was owed, Willie's last hope of some monetary security is to reclaim a Renaissance painting her husband used as collateral for a loan. And that's where the Lady Travelers Society comes in. Willie has to travel to Venice to seal the deal. She will lead a tour of American women through Europe, including Paris and Venice.
Unfortunately Dante Augustus Montague is searching for a lost painting to make up a triptych that once belonged to his family's collection. The painting that belongs to Willie! The key to her future independence! Deviously, Dante has his sister and niece join the group. Dante is the surprise participant.
Willie is just a superb character, Dante is a wonderful foil for her.
I loved the American ladies and the way their friendships grew with Willie. Suddenly she is not a pariah any more. (I can see Society swishing their collective dresses and avoiding her in her time of need)
Alexander's descriptions of cities the groups visited are perfect. I was transported to both Paris and Venice with the vivid language she employs, bringing those wonderful cities to life.
This second addition to the Lady Travelers Society never wavered. It drew me on and in. Intrigue, romance, mystery and humor all wrapped up in a European montage. Fabulous!

A NetGalley ARC

*****

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Things aren’t as they seem!

-
Image
A Murderous Tryst  (Beatrice Hyde-Care Mystery #11) by Lynn Messina    ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Oh my! Bea certainly has a lot to contend with. Bea’s rattled! The Duke has been missing from their bed for a night. When a distraught Bea come downstairs the next morning she finds her beloved husband Damien clasped in the arms of a glamorous female. A female who turns out to be Kesgrave’s first mistress, Mrs. Penelope Taylor! What?! Of course Bea’s heart sinks and she falls back on her painful memories of Aunt Vera’s responses to such a situation. Bea is both shaken and traumatised, but determined not to show it.  It seems Penny has been accused of murder. Actually  Penny’s desperately trying to avoid Newgate.    As a former mistress Penny does the unthinkable thing in society’s eyes. She asks for help from Bea. Bea’s response is just as shocking. She says yes. Kesgrave is as usual inscrutable. Of course this is the beginning of a harebrained chase, complications between...
Read more

Women in war—Internment by the Japanese 1942-45.

-
Image
Sisters Under the Rising Sun  by Heather Morris    ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A fitting tribute to the women interred by the Japanese in Indonesia and Malaya during 1942 until liberation in 1945. Amongst the internees are a group of Australian Army nurses who were not given recognition by the Japanese as members of the armed forces and therefore not prisoners of war according to the Conventions of war.  Sister Vivian Bullwinkle is the only survivor of the massacre of a group of soldiers and nurses on Radji Beach, Bangka Island near Sumatra  in 1942, after the sinking of  HMS Vyner Brooke. There are a number of civilian prisoners in the camps like Norah Chambers and her sister Ena.  Combined, the story of these women interred under terrible conditions, their struggles and achievements are monumental.  Their gifts to their fellows beyond speech. Music plays an important part in uplifting the prisoners’ spirits. It’s truly a privilege to read about their plight, the...
Read more

A wonderful cat and mouse game!

-
Image
Lady Eleanor's Seventh Suitor (The Sutherlands #1)   by Anna Bradley If ever a woman was caught in the cross hairs of a deadly game, even as the reason for its very being is a deep mystery,  that is  Eleanor Sutherland. If ever a man stalked his prey so efficiently then that hunter is  Camden West. From the very beginning I was caught up in the manoeuvre that Cam had instigated against  Eleanor using her sister Charlotte. The lengths he is prepared to go to punish her are puzzling. What he punishing her for is even more so. Is it just because she appears cold and unfeeling? Lady Frost is the name Eleanor has been given. Bets are placed on her at White's. She has her own page! As the story develops we and Cam discover that he has badly underestimated and misjudged Ellie. As she turns the tables on him things look hopeful but always Ellie is taken by surprise by yet another layer that is added to the equation. It isn't until the end that we start to s...
Read more