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jackiehorne's review
3.0
Alissa Johnson's historical romances are hit or miss with me. She writes with wit, her dialogue is always sharp, and her characters are always intriguing. But too often these strengths are overburdened by improbably or outright nonsensical plotting, which, alas, is the case here.
Eight years ago, Scotland Yard Detective Inspector Owen, Lord Renderwell blackmailed swindler William Walker into helping the Yard with criminal cases. At the time, Walker's eldest daughter, Lottie, was convinced that her father had turned to the good side, and when her father died as a result of his involvement in a case, Lottie blamed Owen. For not telling the world that her father had been working for him, and redeeming his name; for allowing Lottie and her siblings to leave without offering any help. That 22-year-old Lottie had long nursed a crush on Owen only made his apparent betrayal all the worse. At least, I think that's what happened; the backstory comes out in confusing bits and starts, making it rather difficult to piece it all together.
After her father's death, Lottie and her two younger siblings adopted another name and moved to the country, trying to build a new life and escape their father's reputation. But now, eight years later, a murderer leaves a note linking the Walker family to the deaths, and Owen is forced back into Lottie's circle. About which resentful Lottie is not at all happy, despite their obvious physical attraction to one another.
The current mystery plot is rather annoying, with a villain who comes out of the blue. What was more annoying was the fits and starts to Owen's and Lottie's relationship. As Owen himself notes, "There had to be something he could say to set things right between them. Again. It seemed as if he was always searching for the right word to smooth over some new argument, constantly struggling to bridge some new gap between them" (Kindle Loc 2947). Some readers may find this "push them together, pull them apart for no good reason" pattern amusing, but for me, it made them far from an appealing couple.
Eight years ago, Scotland Yard Detective Inspector Owen, Lord Renderwell blackmailed swindler William Walker into helping the Yard with criminal cases. At the time, Walker's eldest daughter, Lottie, was convinced that her father had turned to the good side, and when her father died as a result of his involvement in a case, Lottie blamed Owen. For not telling the world that her father had been working for him, and redeeming his name; for allowing Lottie and her siblings to leave without offering any help. That 22-year-old Lottie had long nursed a crush on Owen only made his apparent betrayal all the worse. At least, I think that's what happened; the backstory comes out in confusing bits and starts, making it rather difficult to piece it all together.
After her father's death, Lottie and her two younger siblings adopted another name and moved to the country, trying to build a new life and escape their father's reputation. But now, eight years later, a murderer leaves a note linking the Walker family to the deaths, and Owen is forced back into Lottie's circle. About which resentful Lottie is not at all happy, despite their obvious physical attraction to one another.
The current mystery plot is rather annoying, with a villain who comes out of the blue. What was more annoying was the fits and starts to Owen's and Lottie's relationship. As Owen himself notes, "There had to be something he could say to set things right between them. Again. It seemed as if he was always searching for the right word to smooth over some new argument, constantly struggling to bridge some new gap between them" (Kindle Loc 2947). Some readers may find this "push them together, pull them apart for no good reason" pattern amusing, but for me, it made them far from an appealing couple.
nellesnightstand1's review
3.0
This review was originally posted on Nelle's NightStandCharlotte "Lottie" Walker is a lady thief. Owen Renderwell is the Scotland Yard Detective who fell in love with her while forcibly enlisting her father's help to bring down a criminal.
Poor Lottie fell for him too but felt betrayed when he took all the accolades from the kidnapping rescue that her father died to accomplish.
Secrets to misunderstandings abound in this story. Owen needs Lottie's help in cracking a code a murderer leaves behind. Their chemistry is tangible but their distance is clear. I enjoyed trying to figure out who the murderer was and the second chance romance was sweet.
tessisreading2's review
4.0
I love con artist stories, and this was a fun one - a good balance of suspense and romance, with well-drawn characters. I did feel like the suspense plot dragged a little bit - or, not dragged, but felt oddly let-downish, since - but I loved this otherwise and now need to go dig up the sequel.
Spoiler
the ciphers were less important than they originally seemednellesnightstand's review
3.0
This review was originally posted on Nelle's NightStandCharlotte "Lottie" Walker is a lady thief. Owen Renderwell is the Scotland Yard Detective who fell in love with her while forcibly enlisting her father's help to bring down a criminal.
Poor Lottie fell for him too but felt betrayed when he took all the accolades from the kidnapping rescue that her father died to accomplish.
Secrets to misunderstandings abound in this story. Owen needs Lottie's help in cracking a code a murderer leaves behind. Their chemistry is tangible but their distance is clear. I enjoyed trying to figure out who the murderer was and the second chance romance was sweet.
lassarina's review
4.0
A distinguished viscount in private investigation, formerly lauded for the daring rescue of a duchess, is chasing a murderer, right back to the daughter of London's most notorious thief—and said thief was directly involved in the adventures related to the rescue of the duchess.
I kept smiling all the way through this book because I was just having such a grand time with it. Owen is delightful—very aware of the implications of his power when it comes to Lottie and extremely careful not to abuse it, while also acknowledging that she has every right to be angry at him and not being a shithead about it. Lottie is likewise a delight—she has secrets to keep and the fact that she's keeping them makes sense in context. This isn't a miscommunication where everyone is required to hold the idiot ball for the sake of the plot. The backdrop to the book and the sense of a history that both draws them together and pulls them apart was really well-done, and I loved Owen's team members and Lottie's family. I loved the variety of secrets that everyone was keeping. I loved the layers of plotting and schemes that unraveled slowly and thoroughly throughout the book.
I also liked the reveal, and the fact that all of the threads wrapped up nicely without feeling contrived. I liked the way that Lottie and Owen made choices for themselves, and the way that they seriously considered how to handle a future together instead of blithely assuming that all would be well.
I'm looking forward to future books in the series.
I kept smiling all the way through this book because I was just having such a grand time with it. Owen is delightful—very aware of the implications of his power when it comes to Lottie and extremely careful not to abuse it, while also acknowledging that she has every right to be angry at him and not being a shithead about it. Lottie is likewise a delight—she has secrets to keep and the fact that she's keeping them makes sense in context. This isn't a miscommunication where everyone is required to hold the idiot ball for the sake of the plot. The backdrop to the book and the sense of a history that both draws them together and pulls them apart was really well-done, and I loved Owen's team members and Lottie's family. I loved the variety of secrets that everyone was keeping. I loved the layers of plotting and schemes that unraveled slowly and thoroughly throughout the book.
I also liked the reveal, and the fact that all of the threads wrapped up nicely without feeling contrived. I liked the way that Lottie and Owen made choices for themselves, and the way that they seriously considered how to handle a future together instead of blithely assuming that all would be well.
I'm looking forward to future books in the series.
brokenrecord's review
4.0
4-4.5 stars. This was really great! I loved the tension between Lottie and Owen because of their history and how they slipped back into working together. They were just really cute together. Also, fairly early on I decided I really wanted Esther and Samuel to be a thing and then I read the description for the next book and saw they’re the focus there, so I’m definitely excited for that.
sandlynn's review
4.0
Alissa Johnson’s A Talent for Trickery was published in 2015.
In this book, set in England of the 1870’s, we have a hero who was once a police inspector and is now a private investigator. Over the years, he inherited the title of Viscount and, because of a famous case “they solved,” his friends and colleagues, who appear in this story, were knighted.
When the story opens, Owen Renderwell (the Viscount) and two of his colleagues have made their way to the country home of Charlotte Walker-Bales and her family. They have reason to believe that Charlotte and her two siblings can help them solve the murder of a “shady lady” in London because their deceased father once was a master thief who interacted with these same people. In fact, the father left behind numerous encrypted journals outlining his crimes which might be relevant to their current case. What lies behind all this is that Renderwell was involved in the case that led to the death of Charlotte’s father and Charlotte and he have a history together — not all good but definitely involving a mutual attraction. Furthermore, Charlotte herself has an infamous background helping her father in his illegal pursuits.
This story reads very much like a sexy version of a British cozy. Almost all the action takes place at a country estate and felt very claustrophobic to this reader — which might be the point. In took me a while to get into the story, but once the action picked up, I was definitely engaged. It’s very different for an historical, but I had mixed feelings about it. I think there was too much time spent in peoples’ heads and not enough action. (I can’t believe I’m saying this.)
I would give it a B.
In this book, set in England of the 1870’s, we have a hero who was once a police inspector and is now a private investigator. Over the years, he inherited the title of Viscount and, because of a famous case “they solved,” his friends and colleagues, who appear in this story, were knighted.
When the story opens, Owen Renderwell (the Viscount) and two of his colleagues have made their way to the country home of Charlotte Walker-Bales and her family. They have reason to believe that Charlotte and her two siblings can help them solve the murder of a “shady lady” in London because their deceased father once was a master thief who interacted with these same people. In fact, the father left behind numerous encrypted journals outlining his crimes which might be relevant to their current case. What lies behind all this is that Renderwell was involved in the case that led to the death of Charlotte’s father and Charlotte and he have a history together — not all good but definitely involving a mutual attraction. Furthermore, Charlotte herself has an infamous background helping her father in his illegal pursuits.
This story reads very much like a sexy version of a British cozy. Almost all the action takes place at a country estate and felt very claustrophobic to this reader — which might be the point. In took me a while to get into the story, but once the action picked up, I was definitely engaged. It’s very different for an historical, but I had mixed feelings about it. I think there was too much time spent in peoples’ heads and not enough action. (I can’t believe I’m saying this.)
I would give it a B.
b303tilly's review
2.0
Not for me. The writing was nice, but I didn't find the plot or characters that engaging.
gonturans's review
4.0
Exactly my favorite type of romance- older hero and heroine, actually smart heroine, complicated emotions, really lovely family dynamic