Barbara’s rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
Series: Angus Brodie and Mikaela Forsythe #9
Publication Date: 8/20/24
Period: Victorian – 1891 — London, Paris, Germany
Number of Pages: 259

The cliffhanger at the end of book #8 left us wondering what would happen to Brodie and Mikaela after their huge blow-up. Would they overcome their monumental differences and continue their lives together – both working and private – or was the author headed off in some new direction? Of course, logic says the differences will resolve and the series will continue. This book resolves that cliffhanger – and then leaves us with another. I do not like cliffhangers and have deducted a star in the ratings for that. I hope that isn’t to be a ‘ploy’ often used by this author as I enjoy her writing and this series.

To save Brodie’s life in the previous book, Mikaela agreed to undertake a future mission for Sir Avery Stanton and the Special Services Agency. Now that she’s returned from her safari, Sir Avery holds her to that agreement and has a mission for her. It isn’t just any old mission, it is at the request of Prince Edward Albert and involves the disappearance of Sir Anthony Collingwood. Collingwood is a personal friend to Prince Albert, an important member of the Queen’s privy council, a retired soldier who served with distinction, and a holder of many state secrets, and he has disappeared into thin air.

Neither Mikaela nor Brodie knew the other had been called in on this mission and tried their best to dissuade Sir Avery from using both of them. That strategy didn’t work as Prince Albert himself was at the meeting, putting both of them on the task. With no choice, they set about learning what happened to Sir Anthony, but that part of the mission didn’t take long. However, what they found led them on a chase across Europe from Paris to Frankfurt. With danger lurking in every corner, they had to learn to work together or perish. They must rely on and trust each other to survive and return to England from these foreign shores. Can they do that?

This was an excellently researched and well-written story with compelling characters, dire situations, and bad actors from all over the globe. Mikaela and Brodie seem to have come to an understanding, so I hope things progress well from there because I am not a fan of continual strife between the main characters. As I mentioned earlier, I am not a fan of cliffhangers and this story ended in one – or at least sort of one because I don’t believe it will have much impact on their next case. But who knows? At any rate, I deducted a star for it.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.