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A Necessary Deception (The Daughters of Bainbridge House Book #1) by Laurie Alice Eakes - The story opens with young widow Lydia Gale going to Dartmoor Prison to arrange the parole of a French prisoner, as a favor to her late husband. She thinks the matter concluded after she has met with the Frenchman and made the necessary arrangements, and continues on to London where she is expected to oversee wedding preparations for one of her younger sisters, and a Season for another sister. To Lydia's shock, she is confronted with a Mr. Lang who tells her that the prisoner escaped and that she could be charged with treason as an accessory. And Lydia is caught in a trap of blackmail. She must offer introductions into society and connections to the men Mr. Lang sends to her, or risk her family's safety and reputation.
When Christien de Meuse arrives to meet Lydia and request the introductions promised by Lang, she recognizes him as the French prisoner, and is suspicious despite her intuitive willingness to trust him. Christien says his father was French, but that he has lived in England since he was a boy and is loyal to Great Britain. Can Lydia trust him? Is there anyone she can trust as she tries to navigate through the confusing web of spies and double agents and divided loyalties she finds herself in? All while keeping her family from the ruin of scandal. The relationship between Christien and Lydia warms as they find themselves needing to work together and trust each other to find out who is really behind the blackmail and threats to England.
For the most part, I enjoyed this book, and especially the character Christien. The relationships and Lydia's dilemmas were well done, but I was sometimes confused because many chapters ended with a sort of cliffhanger that was never adequately explained. For example, Lydia would be in the garden and the voice that she recognized as Mr. Lang's would speak to her from behind, then the chapter would end, and the reader would never be given any hint as to what happened. Truly the characters knew more than the reader did! Even after the climax of the story when Lydia and Christien confront the villain(s), and when all the motives and explanations of all the maneuverings were supposedly revealed, I felt that very little had been adequately explained. I reached the end of the book with little idea why the spy master had gone to such lengths to manipulate the characters, or why Lydia had been drawn into any of it, which made for an unsatisfying finish despite the happy ending from a romantic standpoint.
Overall, an enjoyable read with interesting characters and a decent love story, but with little discernible point to all the espionage and intrigue. Readers who want a light romance in a period setting will probably still enjoy it, but those who want a good mystery will be disappointed in the many loose threads.
By the same author: A Lady's Honor and on my TBR: Lady In the Mist
When Christien de Meuse arrives to meet Lydia and request the introductions promised by Lang, she recognizes him as the French prisoner, and is suspicious despite her intuitive willingness to trust him. Christien says his father was French, but that he has lived in England since he was a boy and is loyal to Great Britain. Can Lydia trust him? Is there anyone she can trust as she tries to navigate through the confusing web of spies and double agents and divided loyalties she finds herself in? All while keeping her family from the ruin of scandal. The relationship between Christien and Lydia warms as they find themselves needing to work together and trust each other to find out who is really behind the blackmail and threats to England.
For the most part, I enjoyed this book, and especially the character Christien. The relationships and Lydia's dilemmas were well done, but I was sometimes confused because many chapters ended with a sort of cliffhanger that was never adequately explained. For example, Lydia would be in the garden and the voice that she recognized as Mr. Lang's would speak to her from behind, then the chapter would end, and the reader would never be given any hint as to what happened. Truly the characters knew more than the reader did! Even after the climax of the story when Lydia and Christien confront the villain(s), and when all the motives and explanations of all the maneuverings were supposedly revealed, I felt that very little had been adequately explained. I reached the end of the book with little idea why the spy master had gone to such lengths to manipulate the characters, or why Lydia had been drawn into any of it, which made for an unsatisfying finish despite the happy ending from a romantic standpoint.
Overall, an enjoyable read with interesting characters and a decent love story, but with little discernible point to all the espionage and intrigue. Readers who want a light romance in a period setting will probably still enjoy it, but those who want a good mystery will be disappointed in the many loose threads.
By the same author: A Lady's Honor and on my TBR: Lady In the Mist
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