An Honorable Deception brings back the Imposters, the secret private investigation agency created by Lord Yates Fairfax and his sister, Lady Marigold, their cousin Graham, and Gemma, the daughter of the family’s former steward.
The story starts with Yates in the church, meeting his prospective client under cover of the confessional box. But their meeting doesn’t go as planned, and his new client is shot as she leaves the church.
Yates takes Lady Alethia home to keep her safe, and places her in the care of his sister as they investigate who could have harmed Lady Alethia and the whereabouts of her missing ayah (nanny).
The story takes us straight back to the Fairfax family home in Northumberland, which gives us a chance to meet the menagerie again
That’s a lot of fun.
Lord Yates Merritt, next-door neigbour Lady Lavinia Hemming, and client Lady Alethia Barremore are all point of view characters, which provides the romantic tension: who will Yates choose? This could have been really awkward, but White handled it brilliantly and I was completely satisfied with the result.
And there was also the suspense element of the plot: who has kidnapped the ayah? Who shot Lady Alethia? What is the secret she’s hiding? These questions were all answered with perfect timing and the perfect amount of information.
Yes, I loved An Honorable Deception.
I loved Yates from A Beautiful Disguise, where we first met Lavinia. I love the characters and the way they mix skill, intelligence, humour, and a genuine Christian faith. I loved the way the romance worked out perfectly, even if it didn’t work out the way I’d originally anticipated.
An Honourable Deception is the third book in Roseanne M White’s The Imposters series, and I hope weget to see more of Yates, Marigold, and the rest of the Imposters. If you’re read White’s other historical romances set in England, you’ll recognize a few of the characters who pop up toward the end of An Honourable Deception, like Barclay. I’d love to read a crossover series Upstairs Downstairs or Downton Abbey style with Yates, Barclay, Mr. V, and their associates … hint hint.
Thanks to Bethany House and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for reivew.
About Roseanna M White
Roseanna M. White pens her novels beneath her Betsy Ross flag, with her Jane Austen action figure watching over her. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two children, editing and designing, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna has a slew of historical novels available, ranging from biblical fiction to American-set romances to her new British series. She lives with her family in West Virginia.
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About An Honorable Deception
As the leader of elite private investigative firm the Imposters, Lord Yates Fairfax has made an art of concealing his identity. But when his newest client, the beautiful Lady Alethia Barremore, is shot while leaving their meeting, he throws caution to the wind and rushes to her aid. Though Lady Alethia thought she was only looking for her missing former nanny, she has clearly stumbled upon dangerous secrets.
Lady Lavinia Hemming suspects there’s more to her oldest friends than they’re willing to admit, and when she stumbles upon the truth that they’re the Imposters, she recruits herself into the firm. Happy as she is for the distraction of an investigation, Lavinia’s own family secrets continue to haunt her. And the one thing to bring laughter back into her life–her friendship with Yates–lands her squarely on the bad side of her best friend, his sister.
Tormented by a past that she doesn’t dare to voice aloud, Lady Alethia does what she can to help her handsome host, her new friends, and the investigators. But as clues lead them deeper into the darkest of society’s secrets, Alethia, Yates, and Lavinia soon learn anew that the gentry isn’t always noble . . . and truth isn’t always honorable.
