This short story acts as a sort of prequel to the Society of Gentlemen series, filling in the background for one of the established parings in the full trilogy. It can be read as a stand-alone.
My favorite part of this story is card game of “strip poker,” though Ash and Francis are playing a game that predates that. It’s ridiculously sexy and you can cut the tension with a knife.
My only quibble is that I’d have loved to see some of the scenes (or even the whole story) from Francis’ point of view rather than Ash’s. He seems the more interesting character to me. Perhaps the author will indulge me if she ever returns to writing in this series.
Rating: 4.5 (out of 5) stars. Cross-posted to Amazon and Goodreads.
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