A Dangerous Madness

A Dangerous Madness (2014) Michelle Diener

Set in London in 1812

Phoebe Hillier has been jilted. Consider that it was a match that was forced upon her by her father on his deathbed, she isn’t as distraught about this as she could have been, but for many she will be ruined–obviously something must be wrong with her for her to have been jilted.

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.

Tears stung her eyes as she fought for composure. For the stoic acceptance she’d forced on herself time and again.

James, the Duke of Wittaker has a reputation as a dissolute rake–a cover has has been keeping as he investigates for the Crown. When the Prime Minister is assassinated, he is asked to delve once again into the gaming hells he has been avoiding, so see if he can learn if anyone was behind the assassination.

The lustre had gone off his old lifestyle. Not that there was much lustre to begin with, though he’d felt he was helping in some way. But there was only so long you could wallow in the mire before the mud started to stick.

Since I just read the first two books in this series, I thought I’d go back and re-read the third book, to see how I felt about it.

I still liked it.

There aren’t any stupid misunderstandings, and although Wittaker is protective of Phoebe, that was more a product of the time than over-protectiveness.

I also very much like how thoughtful and considerate Phoebe is–something quite uncommon for the time, but possibly due to her being the daughter of not just a peer, but of a woman whose family (gasp) made their money.

If it was to ensure her house was empty, so they could search for the letter Sheldrake had sent her, they would find nothing— not even her servants. She had made sure Lewis had given everyone, including himself, the night off. No one would be hurt by accidentally running across a housebreaker if she could help it.

I also like how Phoebe manages to understand the very people who are looking down upon her.

She’d known it, but the reality was an ugly, spiteful monster that leered at her from the faces of the women standing around her, sipping coffee and eating petit fours.

Relief that it was not them, or one of their daughters, and a compulsion to make it her fault? to hide the truth that they had no control over whether a man kept his word or not? shone from them in ugly greens and dirty reds.

In addition to the murder of the Prime Minster (an historical event about which there is still speculation) I loved the little bits dropped here and there throughout this series. Consider that Phoebe could readily go into a tavern, however…

Coffee houses in general didn’t allow women, and certainly not ones like the Baltick, where trade and business were conducted.

Taverns (at least the ones that aren’t dives) are acceptable for women to visit, but coffee houses, where trade and business were conducted were forbidden.

So strange.
Rating: 8.5/10

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