Garden of Lies - Amanda Quick

Garden of Lies

By Amanda Quick

  • Release Date: 2015-04-21
  • Genre: Historical Romance
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 282 Ratings

Description

The New York Times bestselling author of The Other Lady Vanishes presents a gripping novel of intrigue, murder, and unexpected romance set against the backdrop of Victorian London.
 
The Kern Secretarial Agency provides reliable professional services to its wealthy clientele, and Anne Clifton was one of the finest young women in Ursula Kern’s employ. But Miss Clifton has met an untimely end—and Ursula is convinced it was not due to natural causes.
 
Bent on justice, Ursula hatches a plan: take Anne’s place as stenographer to the reclusive poet Valerie, Lady Fulbrook. There are dark rumors about Lord Fulbrook, and his gloomy mansion in Mapstone Square seems the logical starting point for an undercover investigation.
 
Archaeologist and adventurer Slater Roxton thinks Mrs. Kern is off her head to meddle in such dangerous business. But if this mysterious widowed beauty insists on stirring the pot, Slater intends to remain close by as they venture into the darker side of polite society and a den of iniquity called the Olympus Club. Together they must reveal the identity of a killer—and to achieve their goal they may need to reveal their deepest secrets to each other as well...

Reviews

  • What a nice surprise

    4
    By uprise24
    Had I known that this was a period romantic piece I would never have downloaded the sample, never having read "gothic romance novels". Well, this surprised me and entertained me. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire read. I subtracted a star to save my pride😜
  • Enjoyed This One!

    4
    By Cpitcock
    I have always enjoyed this author's books, whether she is writing under Amanda Quick, Jayne Anne Krentz, or Jayne Castle, and this one was no exception. I am a fan of historical romance, and I really liked the time period and the setting, as well as all of the details about both. Slater Roxton was a great hero, and a wonderful counterpart to Ursula Kern, a top notch heroine. I liked that neither of them were typical, with his background as an archaeologist and hers as the owner of a secretarial agency. The storyline kept me interested and entertained throughout the book. Urusla Kern is devastated upon the death of her employee and friend, Anne Clifton. She doesn't believe for a second that Anne took her own life, as the authorities have determined. When Ursula resigns a job for Slater Roxton in order to put herself in a position to investigate Anne's life, she ends up telling him what is behind her leaving his employment. Slater is very interested in and attracted to Ursula, so he steps up and offered to help her. Together they will uncover some shocking secrets as they try to find out the truth while guarding their own lives. This was a fun book to read. I liked the two main characters and enjoyed the interaction between them and their developing relationship. They both had very admirable qualities. The search for the killer had plenty of action and moved along at a perfect pace. The story had a nice balance of romance and suspense. This is another winner by Amanda Quick.
  • Another home run!!

    5
    By Joolz S
    Always expect and receive an awesome read from Ms Quick... Never received a book by her that was easy to put down. Can't wait for her next book!