His at Night

His at Night (2010) Sherry Thomas

Lord Vere has been acting the idiot in public for years now–as his cover as a secret agent for HRM. Even his brother (and only surviving family) believes that a head injury caused permanent damage to Vere’s brain. But pretending has grown exhausting, and the game is far less fun than it used to be.

Thirteen years, and Freddie still spoke to Vere as if nothing had changed, and Vere had remained the same brother who had protected Freddie from their father.

Lady Kingsley has forced them into an investigation of Edmund Douglas for fraud–or possibly something worse.

As covert agents, women had the advantage. Vere and Holbrook must assume personas not their own in order not to be taken seriously—an absolute necessity when one went about inquiring after sensitive matters on behalf of the Crown. But a woman, even one as sharp and capable as Lady Kingsley, often managed to be dismissed on nothing more than the fact of her sex.

Elissande Edgerton is all but a captive in her uncle’s house. Her aunt is a laudanum addict, and Elissande knows that if she leaves, her aunt’s life will be made even worse. So she stays, desperately searching for a way to escape.

Their gleeful laughter astounded Elissande. They did not seem quite real to her, these rosy, robust young women, so entirely free of dread and fear, as if the thought had never crossed their minds that enjoyment carried consequences and should therefore remain as hidden as misery.

The appearance Lord Vere seems perfect–a marriage to a man of wealth and power is the only thing that might keep Ellisande and her aunt safe.

Aside: This is possibly the first time I’ve come across mention of the game Sardines, which I played as a kid.

“Sardines,” Mr. Kingsley suggested.

“No, Richard,” said his aunt. “Absolutely not. No one is to run about the house disturbing Mrs. Douglas.”

I kept thinking I didn’t like Vere, that I didn’t like the way he treated Elissande, but then I’d remember that she literally trapped him into marriage, and she wasn’t an innocent. And that Vere had his own demons.

So I kept reading.

And reading.

Until I finished it, because of course I needed to finish it in one sitting.

It wasn’t an amazing book, and the mystery did seem to get a bit ridiculous at times. But it did pull me in and refuse to let go, which is a sign of a good story.

Publisher: Bantam
Rating: 7/10

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