Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Series: Daniel Pitt #6
Publication Date: 4/11/23
Period: 1912 – George V
Number of Pages: 352
Gosh – what can I say? The book is every bit as exciting and nail-biting as the blurb implies and it may be my favorite of all of the books I’ve read so far this year. I have loved his author’s writing style since I read the first William Monk book and have read each book and series since. I love that this series features Daniel Pitt who is the son of Thomas and Charlotte Pitt, whose series was named after them.
The opening of this book has your mouth dropping open because of all of the changes that have happened between the last book and this one. I mean – we knew it would happen, but I thought we’d read it on-page rather than learning it happened three months prior to the beginning of this book. What happened? Well, Daniel and Miriam are married! YES! However, that isn’t the only change. Marcus fford Croft announces his retirement right at the beginning of the book, so there is a huge shake-up at the fford Croft and Gibson Law firm. You’ll be a bit surprised – I think – I was. Of course, someone is named as the new head of chambers to replace Marcus, but the replacement who is brought in to fill the vacancy left when the new head of chambers is named certainly stirs up some angst. Yes, Gideon Hunter, is a King’s Counsel who is brilliant, erratic, and can now choose which cases to accept. So, big changes for Daniel at work and at home.
Gideon calls in some favors on his very first day with the firm and manages to get the firm assigned as the prosecutor in a very controversial case involving a charismatic man. Malcolm Vayne is one of the most popular men in England. He supports the women’s suffrage movement as well as most of the worthy charities. Not to mention, he owns most of the newspapers in England as well. Yes, everybody absolutely loves Vayne, so how could he be charged with running a ponsy scheme that defrauds thousands of hardworking, simple citizens? With his riches, and close ties to many of the most powerful men in the country – and on the continent – how will they ever manage to prove their case against him?
Danger lurks around every corner because Vayne’s supporters are vocal and rabid. Is Vayne maybe a bit dangerous as well? Everybody from the witnesses to the prosecutors and their families are in danger. Will they manage to survive? Will the law firm survive? In the end, is Vayne really innocent? Will the jury really understand all of the dull financial details?
Oh! What an exciting read. I couldn’t put it down once I started reading, so I definitely recommend it! Happy reading!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.