A Dangerous Madness

A Dangerous Madness (2014) Michelle Diener

Set in London in 1812.

Phoebe Hillier has been engaged to Sheldrake at the instance of her father and her family, because their families were close, and because Sheldrake desperately needs her money. So when he breaks her engagement her feelings are complicated.

She had all but accepted the anger and the frustration as constant companions, but Sheldrake cutting her free, the incidents of the last day, opened her eyes to how big they had grown, hulking beasts that rubbed up against her. Crowding her and making her life smaller.

The Duke of Wittaker has been playing a dissolute rake for longer than he cares to remember, and was slowly extricating himself from that role, until the death of the Prime Minister draws him back into society to play the role once more.

It made him even more popular, even more respected among this lot, he’d found. The more contemptuous, the more dismissive he was of them, the more they tried to please him and follow his style.

First, I didn’t realize until I went to write this review that is was self-published. It was very well done and I saw no more typos than I would expect.

That’s pretty impressive, I think.

The mystery was decent, and based upon historical events, which I always appreciate.

I quite liked Phoebe and James. They lived and worked within the constraints of society, and didn’t behave in too modern a manner.

This was also, apparently, the third book in the series, but I didn’t feel any loss for coming in at book three, and instead now want to read the earlier books in the series.
Rating: 7.5/10

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