Reviews

City of Scoundrels by Victoria Thompson

gmamartha's review against another edition

4.0

1918. WW1. Flu epidemic. German spies.

johnw613's review against another edition

emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Elizabeth Miles, the Counterfeit Lady, and Gideon Bates, her straight-as-an-arrow attorney fiancé, team up to help a war widow whose new husband died in action in WWI. Rose Preston is estranged from her in-laws and needs help claiming her inheritance. Elizabeth and Gideon create a subterfuge to help Rose and on so doing uncover a group of German spies and bring the evildoers to justice. A very resonant side plot addresses the 1918 flu epidemic and provides a recognizable touch point for readers of today (2024). The plot resolves a tad too conveniently with a twist I hope will be explained in a future book, but author Thompson hits her stride most assuredly in this third book in this series of historical thrillers.

nevclue's review against another edition

3.0

This was a bit of a trip since it was set in 1918 and yes the flu does play a role. Still have mixed feelings about the series, but reading this (particularly the flu bits) in 2021 as we're coming out of the pandemic (at least in the US...for the moment) probably hits a bit different than when the book came out in 2019.

novelesque_life's review

5.0

RATING: 4.5 STARS

The Counterfeit Lady series is one of those "it gets better with each book" rather than "some are better than others". I love Elizabeth as the main character as she is always teetering between good and bad but always has a good heart. Her romance with Gideon, friendships, and conmen family all make this series one I cannot wait to read, and am both happy and sad to get to the end of the story. I read the first novel, and loved it. I missed out when then next few novels came out but then saw book four is already out. I was so excited when my eLibrary bought the audio and I could do a binge read. I am going to regret it when I get to the end, but hey, like I would run out of books to read, lol.

shadowmaster13's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

I felt like the

German race stuff

Jake used to rope a character was a little anachronistic, and some of the blazé way characters treated the 1918 pandemic was unfortunately written and published just before the world got a reminder on novel viral pandemics

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Death

Illness

reading_srsly's review

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Death

milkteajeon's review against another edition

5.0

13.11.22: can't fathom why i rated this 4.5, i rescind that rating


4.5

nasselin's review against another edition

5.0

I love this series so much! Elizabeth is such a relatable character, and I love how she never lets anything get in her way. While her fiance would rather her quit her con-man family ways, she instead chooses to leverage it in order to get justice for other women. After a war widow goes to Gideon for legal advice, he directs her to Elizabeth and from there they try to get her the rightful inheritance from her husband. There is also a healthy amount of intrigue and espionage, as they stumble into an intricate German spy ring. I love this series and can't wait for more adventures!

bookitwithbecca's review against another edition

4.0

Watching Gideon’s criminal education progress is a source of eternal delight, and City of Scoundrels delivers all the thrills and hijinks I’ve come to expect from the series! I see a definite pattern forming, however, which is not necessarily a bad thing, except there are only so many times I want to see our whip-smart heroine be forced into the part of damsel in distress in the final act (my limit for that trope is generally... once). What can I say? Leverage has spoiled me for competency - and for not using the female characters as, well, damsels, however composed. Still, as a straightforward con-story (there’s an oxymoron for you!), it’s a very fun ride, and I hope we’ll see more of at least one of the characters we met in this book. Reading about the 1918 influenza hit hard, of course, even though I knew it was coming, but my inner WWI history buff was happily distracted by the parts of the story related to that. Thompson certainly managed to fit a lot of story and history into less than 350 pages, and I ate it right up. As always, I’m looking forward to the next book and hoping to see things shaken up a bit this time, with Elizabeth taking an active role once again!

gawronma's review against another edition

4.0

This was a surprising read. The plot was woven around the United States entering World War I and Spanish Flu. Really liked the Miles family.