Gilded Cage

Gilded Cage (2019) K.J. Charles (Lilywhite Boys)

Set in London in 1865.

This is the second Lilywhite Boys book, and finds Templeton Lane in a great deal of trouble, as he ends up suspected of murder while trying to steal an opal necklace. Unfortunately, the only person it seems he can turn to is his old love, Susan Lazarus.

And we spend time with Susan, the adopted daughter of Justin Lazarus, who works for his inquiry agency and who had a relationship with Templeton as a teenager.

He had been gone for more than a decade, and reappeared, not with the reformed character and fortune that a spell in the colonies was meant to bestow on the delinquent upper classes, but as a jewel thief.

The past relationship between Susan and James (Templeton) is complicated, but we do learn that James isn’t quite as awful has his past actions seemed to be, although he is by no means a good man (he is, after all, a jewel thief).

If you want to share, you have my word of honour I will behave as a gentleman.”

“I’ve met gentlemen.”

“Good point. I will behave as a gentleman ought to.”

That’s a particularly sharp barb, as then–as now–those who are supposed to behave as gentleman rarely do. (That’s one of the reasons I don’t love the trope of a woman going after a lord in historical mysteries. Yeah, they weren’t ALL bad, but a lot of them really were just privileged assholes.)

So this story has characters from previous books, including the Sins of the City series as well as the book and novella in this series. I think that might actually be part of its weakness. It spends a lot of time with the characters from those series, which seemed to come at the detriment of the mystery, which is too bad, because I thought Any Old Diamonds was pretty fantastic.

So although it was fine, it didn’t enjoy it anywhere near as much as I did other historicals she’s written, and don’t have any urge to read it again.

Publisher: KJC Books

Rating: 6/10

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