The Fourth Enemy by Anne Perry

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, George V - 1910- 1936, Historical Mystery, Part of a Series, Top Pick - Highly RecommendedLeave a comment

The Fourth Enemy (Daniel Pitt #6)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.

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A Beginner’s Guide to Scandal by Alivia Fleur

On By TracyIn Part of a Series, Tracy's Reviews, Victorian Era (1837-1901)Leave a comment

A Beginner's Guide to Scandal (Tales from Honeysuckle Street, #1)A Beginner’s Guide to Scandal by Alivia Fleur

Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Tales from Honeysuckle Street, #1

Release Date: April 18, 2023

Years ago, Hamish Dalton the forgotten younger son of an earl, and Iris Abberton, the adopted daughter of a rich businessman were the best of friends, but tragedy tore them apart and they didn’t see each other for almost 13 years. Hamish is now the heir to his father’s earldom and chaffing under his constant criticisms and the pressure of living up to the ghost of his elder brother. He has been sent back to London to find a proper wife, but Hamish has other plans, he plans to start a scandal to upset his father and ruin his plans. His problem is, he doesn’t really know how to go about it, so he goes to his Aunt Tilly, who was disowned years ago and then became a courtesan to support herself. She agrees to help him, thrilled his plan are finally in motion, he returns to his house and is surprised to see his childhood friend and neighbor, Iris. He can’t believe she hasn’t married and moved away. He finds himself drawn to her, and despite his plans to thwart his father, he can’t seem to stay away from her.

Iris Abberton has loved Hamish Dalton for as long as she can remember and was heartbroken when he left after the accident that killed his mother and elder brother. She tried to stay in touch with him, but he never replied to her letters, so she stopped writing. She and her father spent years traveling the world and expanding their business, but now her father’s memory is declining and she is desperately trying to hide that fact from the company’s board, they have no idea that Iris has been running things for her father and wants to join the board and expand the business. She has plans to see this happen, but then Hamish returns and she can’t resist him. But when his plans succeed, it destroys hers and for the first time ever, Iris walks away from Hamish. Can he find a way to make things right and win her back or has he truly lost the only woman he ever loved?

This was an interesting and steamy story of reunited lovers and their bumpy road to HEA. The book is filled with emotion, hijinx, forbidden love, steamy love scenes, heartache, wonderful secondary characters, groveling, second chances, and finally a HEA. I enjoyed this book, I would have liked to see Hamish right his wrongs a bit quicker, and an epilogue a few years later would have been nice. But overall, it was a good read and I would be happy to recommend this title. This is the first book in a new series, but the author states each book can be read as a standalone title.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.*