Murder and mischief!
Lady Notorious (Royal Rewards #4) by Theresa Romain
An historical romance with a difference. Cassandra Benton is an unlikely and rather marvelous lead. Feisty, caring and a realist, she works for Bow Street with her brother.
Someone is trying to kill Lord Northbrook's father, the Duke of Ardmore. Lord George employs Cass and her twin brother Charles to find the culprit. That chase is well and truly a twisted warren that whelms up from his father's past and a tontine that has been growing steadily over the years. The novel explains to some degree what this particular tontine is,
"Part an investment scheme, part a wager, it had been organized forty years before when ten younger sons of the aristocracy had each contributed an equal amount to a certain fund. The interest and principal were left to grow together over the years, untouched, as time reaped the lives of the contributors. When only one survivor of the investment group remained, he would receive the full amount of the fortune."
It's now forty years on and some members of the group seem to have died under questionable circumstances." The background for George's concern is well and truly set, if only his father would consider things more seriously.
I have to admit our first introduction to George and Cass in the cupboard is unexpected. I was a startled as Cass was.
I really enjoyed Cass. Her intelligence, her directness and her empathy engage you.
Cass becomes George's notorious cousin when the focus needs Cass to be able to move amongst the ton.
The chase is on and the resolution is unexpected.
The secondary characters are strong. I particularly liked Cass and Charles's colorful informant Janey Trewes, "a sometime prostitute and frequent pickpocket."
I was surprised but not upset by the theme of girl from wrong side of the traps meets lord as unlikely as that might be given the times. A strong injection of fresh blood makes for an interesting dilemma but not here it seems.
A strong cast and intriguing storyline makes this Romain offering a winner!
A NetGalley ARC
*****
Someone is trying to kill Lord Northbrook's father, the Duke of Ardmore. Lord George employs Cass and her twin brother Charles to find the culprit. That chase is well and truly a twisted warren that whelms up from his father's past and a tontine that has been growing steadily over the years. The novel explains to some degree what this particular tontine is,
"Part an investment scheme, part a wager, it had been organized forty years before when ten younger sons of the aristocracy had each contributed an equal amount to a certain fund. The interest and principal were left to grow together over the years, untouched, as time reaped the lives of the contributors. When only one survivor of the investment group remained, he would receive the full amount of the fortune."
It's now forty years on and some members of the group seem to have died under questionable circumstances." The background for George's concern is well and truly set, if only his father would consider things more seriously.
I have to admit our first introduction to George and Cass in the cupboard is unexpected. I was a startled as Cass was.
I really enjoyed Cass. Her intelligence, her directness and her empathy engage you.
Cass becomes George's notorious cousin when the focus needs Cass to be able to move amongst the ton.
The chase is on and the resolution is unexpected.
The secondary characters are strong. I particularly liked Cass and Charles's colorful informant Janey Trewes, "a sometime prostitute and frequent pickpocket."
I was surprised but not upset by the theme of girl from wrong side of the traps meets lord as unlikely as that might be given the times. A strong injection of fresh blood makes for an interesting dilemma but not here it seems.
A strong cast and intriguing storyline makes this Romain offering a winner!
A NetGalley ARC
*****
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