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Book Summary and Reviews of City of Secrets by Victoria Thompson

City of Secrets by Victoria Thompson

City of Secrets

A Counterfeit Lady Novel

by Victoria Thompson

  • Critics' Consensus (2):
  • Published:
  • Nov 2018, 320 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

An exciting new book in the series featuring woman-on-the-run Elizabeth Miles - from the beloved national bestselling author of the Gaslight Mysteries.

Elizabeth Miles knows that honesty is not always the best policy when it comes to finding justice.

Elizabeth has discovered that navigating the rules of high society is the biggest con of all. She knows she can play the game, but so far, her only success is Priscilla Knight, a dedicated young suffragist recently widowed for the second time. Her beloved first husband died in a tragic accident and left her with two young daughters - and a sizable fortune. While she was lost in grief, Priscilla's pastor convinced her she needed a man to look after her and engineered a whirlwind courtship and hasty marriage to fellow parishioner Endicott Knight. Now, about nine months later, Endicott is dead in what appears to be another terrible accident. 

Everyone is whispering, but that is the least of Priscilla's troubles. She had believed Endicott was wealthy, too, but her banker tells her she has no money left and her house has been mortgaged. He also hints at a terrible scandal and refuses to help. 

Priscilla stands to lose everything, and Elizabeth is determined not to let that happen. But, as always, Elizabeth walks a fine line between using her unusual talents and revealing her own scandalous past. Elizabeth soon discovers that Endicott's death was anything but accidental, and revealing the truth could threaten much more than Priscilla's finances. To save her new friend's future - and possibly her own - Elizabeth, along with her honest-to-a-fault beau, Gideon, delve into the sinister secrets someone would kill to keep.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Starred Review. This is a suspenseful and twisty story guaranteed to bate breaths and engage readers until the wee hours. Fans of Amy Stewart's Kopp sisters, Deanna Raybourn's Veronica Speedwell, and Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher will welcome the addition of another strong woman to the ranks of early-twentieth-century crime solvers." - Booklist

"Thompson successfully combines an intriguing mystery with social commentary." - Publishers Weekly

"A far cry from the average mystery, the fast-moving second novel in Thompson's (City of Lies, 2017, etc.) Counterfeit Lady series features a bold and clever sleuth, abundant historical detail, and a rocky romance." - Kirkus

This information about City of Secrets was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

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Author Information

Victoria Thompson

Victoria Thompson is the Edgar® and Agatha award-nominated author of the Gaslight Mysteries - including Murder in the Bowery, Murder in Morningside Heights, Murder on St. Nicholas Avenue, Murder on Amsterdam Avenue, and Murder in Murray Hill - as well as numerous historical novels.

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