Investigator and free spirit Liberty Lane is asked by her
friend, Lady Blessington, to help smuggle a supporter of Prince
Louis Napoleon out of the country. He has papers that will
aid the prince at his forthcoming trial, and has been hidden
away for his own safety. Liberty agrees, but a fire and a
murder prevent this from happening. Instead, a lot of other
things happen involving Disraeli, a sinister investigator,
opera singer and a lot of international politics.
I have been a fan of this series since the beginning and continue
to be one for a number of reasons. Firstly, setting a novel
in 1840 is not common, and the author has the period spot
on with one foot still in the Regency and the other in the
new Victorian age. This story deals with the plot to put Louis
Napoleon on the French throne and the battle for Italian liberation
from Austria. Then there is the convoluted plot involving
more than one murder, plenty of red herrings and suspects.
Add in to the mix a splash of romance (just a hint), portraits
of various real people such as Disraeli, Lady Blessington
and the Count D'Orsay, and you have another successful story
in the series. As with all series, it is enjoyable to see
what all the series characters are doing, and this is not
a good place to start reading the books. Some elements of
the story are standalone, but not all, and you would be missing
all the character development and backstory, which all good
series have. Liberty is a fascinating protagonist who has
a foot in both high and low society and makes an ideal narrator.
This is a real historical novel that marries a good story
with plenty of factual history and is one of a series I hope
runs and runs.
Reviews of other titles in this series
Death
At Dawn (US-A Foreign Affair) #1
A
Dangerous Affair (UK-Death of a Dancer)#2
Friends
In High Places #7
Fool’s
Gold #8
The
Killing Site #9
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