I received this as a Goodreads giveaway and have never been so excited to win a book in my entire life!

This was everything Wrexford and Sloane should be. Excitement, murder, spies, and politics. However, there were fewer instances of reactions to Quill's caricatures, and I was a little disappointed in that they did not play more of a part of the story. That, and the extreme use of the words "villain" and "Damnation" were what prevented it from being a 5-star rating. Once you got past everyone saying one or both of the two words on seemingly every page (and sometimes multiple times in a conversation), it was great! ( )

Another engaging mystery involving some of my favorite characters- Lord Wrexford and Lady Charlotte and their circle of friends and family. Loved it all. ( )

Is platitudinal a word? My spell checker thinks it is, but when I ask it to define it, I get the definition for latitudinal.

Anyway, this book is platitudinal, as in full of the platitudes. All about love, and family, and friendship, which is all very nice, but not why I read mysteries. Still, this book was better than the last one, which just about put me off the series entirely. This one featured a plot of international intrigue entering around the London Peace Celebrations that took place after the Napoleonic war ended. Penrose was clever; she wrote the story in such a way that I was sure it was transparent and I was going to be annoyed ... but while I did figure out one part of the solution, I was totally wrong about the other. There was also some double crossing and double dealing going on that made the whole thing more complicated than it looked. Overall, it was a decent story, but not as compelling as the earliest entries.

At the end the author includes a note that clearly delineates what is historically factual and what she made up (which was actually not as much as I'd have guessed). ( )

Charlotte is now married to the Duke of Wrexford and is living in Mayfair with the “Rascals.” There are Celebrations going on in London after the defeat of Napoléon and cutting through the park at night Wrexford and the boys discover a man shot. They learn later that he is involved in the development of a new repeating mechanism for guns. Of course they insert themselves into the investigation looking for blueprints and discover that his nephew is related by marriage to Charlotte. He’s a very intelligent boy of the same age as the Rascals and they become fast friends. Lots of intrigue, a little romance and miscommunication before the very exciting ending. ( )

Such a wonderful book! I felt bereft after finishing it because the characters were so perfect! Love this series. ( )