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gmamartha's review against another edition
4.0
Change of pace with heroine being the one in the con business. 1917 women's suffragists.
jena_33's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
doritobabe's review against another edition
3.0
3/5 - but a different 3/5 than I gave [b:The Water Cure|39335566|The Water Cure|Sophie Mackintosh|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1521604165s/39335566.jpg|56832986], which I read right before this. I actually liked TWC better than City of Lies , but I am trying to avoid rating books *against* one another.
City of Lies is slotted in the "Historical Romance" section of my library, but I think would do well being in the general fiction, or "Historical" section. What I am trying to say is this book is light on the romance, heavy on the history. Thompson has covered a real historical event associated with the Suffrage movement (The Night of Terror), and this takes up probably a good 1/3 of the text.
City of Lies follows Elizabeth Miles as she flees from a murderous money-maker Mr. Thornton (forever ruining Mr. Thornton for me from [b:North and South|156538|North and South|Elizabeth Gaskell|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1349633381s/156538.jpg|1016482] :(. ) She has it coming though; Elizabeth and her half-brother are con people who scam the wealthy out of thousands and thousands of dollars. During the con-gone-wrong, Elizabeth flees from Thornton and his thugs and hides in a group of petitioning suffragists, where she is eventually taken to jail in Virginia where she meets Anna and Mrs. Bates. Once freed, Elizabeth is taken in by her new friends and continues to live a life of lies, even lying to her beau, Gideon.
The writing was decent, the historical pieces interesting, but I really felt that the characters were inconsistent and the depiction of them completely flawed with who the author wanted them to be. For instance, Elizabeth is supposed to be a masterful con-woman, but her face gives EVERYTHING away, and she is VERY emotional --despite what the author is telling the reader-- and she ends up in many blunders. Additionally, Gideon's description is a bit HOT at first, really making him overly lustful and unattractive in my mind. He cools down a bit later, but...
Overall,I don't feel like the characters were as fleshed out as the third person omniscient perspective could have done.
My second issue (loss of second star) is that the cons that were played in this novel were underwhelming and Mr. Thornton was a bit too much of a caricature of a bad-guy.
Fun read. Definitely a beach read. Maybe if I want something light I will read the second in the series, but I doubt it.
City of Lies is slotted in the "Historical Romance" section of my library, but I think would do well being in the general fiction, or "Historical" section. What I am trying to say is this book is light on the romance, heavy on the history. Thompson has covered a real historical event associated with the Suffrage movement (The Night of Terror), and this takes up probably a good 1/3 of the text.
City of Lies follows Elizabeth Miles as she flees from a murderous money-maker Mr. Thornton (forever ruining Mr. Thornton for me from [b:North and South|156538|North and South|Elizabeth Gaskell|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1349633381s/156538.jpg|1016482] :(. ) She has it coming though; Elizabeth and her half-brother are con people who scam the wealthy out of thousands and thousands of dollars. During the con-gone-wrong, Elizabeth flees from Thornton and his thugs and hides in a group of petitioning suffragists, where she is eventually taken to jail in Virginia where she meets Anna and Mrs. Bates. Once freed, Elizabeth is taken in by her new friends and continues to live a life of lies, even lying to her beau, Gideon.
The writing was decent, the historical pieces interesting, but I really felt that the characters were inconsistent and the depiction of them completely flawed with who the author wanted them to be. For instance, Elizabeth is supposed to be a masterful con-woman, but her face gives EVERYTHING away, and she is VERY emotional --despite what the author is telling the reader-- and she ends up in many blunders. Additionally, Gideon's description is a bit HOT at first, really making him overly lustful and unattractive in my mind. He cools down a bit later, but...
Overall,I don't feel like the characters were as fleshed out as the third person omniscient perspective could have done.
My second issue (loss of second star) is that the cons that were played in this novel were underwhelming and Mr. Thornton was a bit too much of a caricature of a bad-guy.
Fun read. Definitely a beach read. Maybe if I want something light I will read the second in the series, but I doubt it.
eve_prime's review
3.5
It's 1917, and Elizabeth Miles is part of a New York City gang of con artists. She and her partner are in Washington, D.C., trying to get money from one particularly unpleasant wannabe arms dealer, but things go wrong and his thugs are after her. She runs and runs and finds a group of suffragists rallying outside the White House, so she joins right in, figuring that at least if she's in jail she'll be safe from the bad guy. However, the women are more than she expect - kind and sympathetic - and she's never had people show her such friendship and respect before. She starts seeing the world and her choices a bit differently, but she'll still have to do something about this big problem hanging over her.
It was obvious from the beginning that Thompson is not a very high quality writer, unlike, say, Laurie R. King; I'd give her prose a B-minus and that might be generous. However, she's a solid storyteller, and her characters are vivid and realistic, and I quite enjoyed reading it. I especially appreciated thatshe had Elizabeth come clean to the young man who'd fallen in love with her, instead of conning him some more and saving her big reveal for a later book in the series. I also really enjoyed the solution she had to discovering that her young suffragist friend had fallen in love with her without knowing that lesbianism is a thing - she introduced the girl to her lesbian aunt who, with her partner, runs a weekly salon for creative gay folks.
It was obvious from the beginning that Thompson is not a very high quality writer, unlike, say, Laurie R. King; I'd give her prose a B-minus and that might be generous. However, she's a solid storyteller, and her characters are vivid and realistic, and I quite enjoyed reading it. I especially appreciated that
lizdaniii's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: Torture, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Misogyny, and Vomit
johnw613's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Elizabeth Miles is a scrappy independent minded young woman from New York City around the time of the First World War. She makes her way as a grifter, creating false identities at the drop of a hat and playing fast and loose with the truth and the strictures of polite society. In this first novel in the Counterfeit Lady series she gets involved with a group of war profiteers, a band of energetic suffragists, and an Old New York Family that is brimming over with secrets.
This book is clearly laying the groundwork for an ongoing series and author Thompson brings her vast research into New York society, much she shows of brilliantly in her Gaslight Mysteries series, energetically to the fore. This story cycle appears to be more in the suspense and thriller veins and I’m curious to read future titles. Sarah Brandt Malloy from the Gaslight Mysteries is one of the most deftly drawn characters to come along since Kinsey Millhone and V. I. Warshawsky. Elizabeth Miles may join them, but at this juncture I feel that this new series marks Thompson’s trial run at stepping away from a genre she knows how to manipulate with ease. We shall see how well her mastery of a new genre will develop.
This book is clearly laying the groundwork for an ongoing series and author Thompson brings her vast research into New York society, much she shows of brilliantly in her Gaslight Mysteries series, energetically to the fore. This story cycle appears to be more in the suspense and thriller veins and I’m curious to read future titles. Sarah Brandt Malloy from the Gaslight Mysteries is one of the most deftly drawn characters to come along since Kinsey Millhone and V. I. Warshawsky. Elizabeth Miles may join them, but at this juncture I feel that this new series marks Thompson’s trial run at stepping away from a genre she knows how to manipulate with ease. We shall see how well her mastery of a new genre will develop.
sarah_moynihan's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this book. I purchsed it on a whim off of a mass market paperback rack and hadn't read from tbis author before so I wasn't expecting very much, but I was pleasantly surprised. I liked Elizabeth's character and her interactions with Mrs. Bates and Anna. I actually didn't care much at all for Anna at first, I found her flighty, whiny, and weak, but after her experiences with the Suffragists, she really comes into her own and toughens up.
I found Thornton sufficiently sinister. Many villians in a book come across as merely cheesy and over done. But he was just the right blend of arrogant stupidity and violent anger.
I enjoyed the suspense of the book, I stayed up late to finish because I just needed to know what would happen with all the characters.
I loved how Elizabeth was so passive aggressive with Gideon. They were quite the foil to each other. He was the honest and just lawyer and she was the con artist on the run.
My only complaint is probably how the relationship between Gideon and Elizabeth changed rapidly at the conclusion of the novel. It seemeed to jump from mutual attraction to "I love you, let us marry" all within the space of a few pages. I could tell this was where their relationship was headed anyway, but it just seemed like a quick transition to me. Other than that, no complaints!
Very excited to see this will be a series, on to the second book: City of Secrets!
I found Thornton sufficiently sinister. Many villians in a book come across as merely cheesy and over done. But he was just the right blend of arrogant stupidity and violent anger.
I enjoyed the suspense of the book, I stayed up late to finish because I just needed to know what would happen with all the characters.
I loved how Elizabeth was so passive aggressive with Gideon. They were quite the foil to each other. He was the honest and just lawyer and she was the con artist on the run.
My only complaint is probably how the relationship between Gideon and Elizabeth changed rapidly at the conclusion of the novel. It seemeed to jump from mutual attraction to "I love you, let us marry" all within the space of a few pages. I could tell this was where their relationship was headed anyway, but it just seemed like a quick transition to me. Other than that, no complaints!
Very excited to see this will be a series, on to the second book: City of Secrets!
shleyg's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
a_kira's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting idea and plot. A bit unrealistic of happy ending for everything that transpired.