If you’ve ever watched Downton Abbey and thought, “This show could use more espionage, blackmail, and murder,” this is the book for you! What I especially enjoyed about this book is that it is primarily a mystery/thriller with an excellent romance subplot. But more importantly, the romance subplot informs and adds to the tension of the main plot, which is a credit once again to the author’s ability to tell a seamless story. 

Curtis and da Silva are both delightful heroes in their own right, and their interactions are never what I expect. The secondary characters present in this house party that will provide gossip for years to come are also well-crafted, and no one is who they seem.

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys stories about English early twentieth-century manners and mayhem, especially when it involves spies, eerie country houses, and lots of sass.

Rating: 4 (out of 5) stars. Cross-posted to Amazon and Goodreads.