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A review by sarah_moynihan
And Dangerous to Know by Darcie Wilde
5.0
After her father and sister abandoned the family after he destroyed their finances and after her mother passed a few years ago, Rosalind Thorne has been forced to make her own way living by her own wits as a 'gentlewoman of reduced circumstances.'
Recruited by Lady Jersey, Rosalind is called to the home of the prestigious Lady Melbourne to recover a bundle of sensitive correspondence that have been stolen from a locked desk drawer. In order to investigate Rosalind will need to stay on in Lady Melbourne's home posing as her own private secretary. Not only must she identify the thief, she must also track them down and return them to Lady Melbourne before they cause an irrepairable scandal.
Lady Melbourne is not giving Rosalind all the facts available. When Adam Harkness comes calling with the news of an unknown woman found dead within the gates of Melbourne House, Rosalind will have to contend with the danger of not only posing as a member of staff in a powerful household and a blackmailer, but of an unknown murderer.
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And Dangerous to Know is the third book in Darcy Wilde's Rosalind Thorne Mysteries series. Before I get to the actual review, I just want to mention that the covers for the books in this series are gorgeous.
I don't want to give away anything of the mystery, so I'll try to be vague. I was pretty sure that I knew who the villian was here but a few of the characters and the twisting of the plot left room for more than one red herring in the mix that will have you changing your mind more than once. I love a good mystery that will keep me guessing.
I adore regency mysteries and I love the historic tone of this series, the research is evident and pulls you in and immerses you in the story. The historical characters, like Lord Byron and Lady Caroline Lamb, are woven into the story so nicely alongside the fictional ones. I found it very interesting that Wilde was able to give such a sense of these historical figures through only snippets of correspondence (which lead us into each chapter) and being talked about by the other characters. For example, we never actually meet Byron in this book, but you feel like you really get a sense of his character.
A lot of mysteries run the risk of having either no sense of danger or too much to the point that the mystery looses any sense of reality. But this series has a great balance of danger, especially for our main characters.
I'm not a fan of love triangles, but this one works... mostly because it is barely a love triangle. The men aren't competing to win the affections of one woman here, there just happen to be two men in her life. One that represents her past and another that represents her future. Rosalind and Devon share a history and affection. Adam and Rosalind share attraction and lifestyles. A future with Devon means a return to the life she was raised to and a future with Adam means a life with a man from the world in which she now lives and has built for herself. I certainly know where I stand on this matter and his name is Harkness.
I love Rosalind's character, she is clever and compassionate and I look forward to seeing what mystery she'll face next.. perhaps at the Casselmaine estate? This book ends with a nice transition to lead us into the next book in the series, which I am very much looking forward to. I recommend this book and the entire series to fans of recency mysteries. If you enjoy the Lady Darby series by Anna Lee Huber, you'll love this series.
_____
Many thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for sharing an eARC with me of And Dangerous to Know by Darcy Wilde. This is my honest review.
Recruited by Lady Jersey, Rosalind is called to the home of the prestigious Lady Melbourne to recover a bundle of sensitive correspondence that have been stolen from a locked desk drawer. In order to investigate Rosalind will need to stay on in Lady Melbourne's home posing as her own private secretary. Not only must she identify the thief, she must also track them down and return them to Lady Melbourne before they cause an irrepairable scandal.
Lady Melbourne is not giving Rosalind all the facts available. When Adam Harkness comes calling with the news of an unknown woman found dead within the gates of Melbourne House, Rosalind will have to contend with the danger of not only posing as a member of staff in a powerful household and a blackmailer, but of an unknown murderer.
____________________________
And Dangerous to Know is the third book in Darcy Wilde's Rosalind Thorne Mysteries series. Before I get to the actual review, I just want to mention that the covers for the books in this series are gorgeous.
I don't want to give away anything of the mystery, so I'll try to be vague. I was pretty sure that I knew who the villian was here but a few of the characters and the twisting of the plot left room for more than one red herring in the mix that will have you changing your mind more than once. I love a good mystery that will keep me guessing.
I adore regency mysteries and I love the historic tone of this series, the research is evident and pulls you in and immerses you in the story. The historical characters, like Lord Byron and Lady Caroline Lamb, are woven into the story so nicely alongside the fictional ones. I found it very interesting that Wilde was able to give such a sense of these historical figures through only snippets of correspondence (which lead us into each chapter) and being talked about by the other characters. For example, we never actually meet Byron in this book, but you feel like you really get a sense of his character.
A lot of mysteries run the risk of having either no sense of danger or too much to the point that the mystery looses any sense of reality. But this series has a great balance of danger, especially for our main characters.
I'm not a fan of love triangles, but this one works... mostly because it is barely a love triangle. The men aren't competing to win the affections of one woman here, there just happen to be two men in her life. One that represents her past and another that represents her future. Rosalind and Devon share a history and affection. Adam and Rosalind share attraction and lifestyles. A future with Devon means a return to the life she was raised to and a future with Adam means a life with a man from the world in which she now lives and has built for herself. I certainly know where I stand on this matter and his name is Harkness.
I love Rosalind's character, she is clever and compassionate and I look forward to seeing what mystery she'll face next.. perhaps at the Casselmaine estate? This book ends with a nice transition to lead us into the next book in the series, which I am very much looking forward to. I recommend this book and the entire series to fans of recency mysteries. If you enjoy the Lady Darby series by Anna Lee Huber, you'll love this series.
_____
Many thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for sharing an eARC with me of And Dangerous to Know by Darcy Wilde. This is my honest review.