{"id":11624,"date":"2019-02-07T16:42:55","date_gmt":"2019-02-07T21:42:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=11624"},"modified":"2025-10-01T18:51:47","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T22:51:47","slug":"banquet-of-lies-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/11624","title":{"rendered":"Banquet of Lies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Banquet of Lies<\/a><\/em> (2013) Michelle Diener<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Set in London in 1812.<\/p>\n

This is my favorite book in this series–and I like the other two books quite well.<\/p>\n

Giselle Barrington has seen her father murdered for the secrets her carries. She manages to escape back to London, but does not know who she can turn to, since it was an Englishman who killed her father. She she turns to her friend–a man who was sous-chef for her mother and has always treated her like a daughter–who decides she should hide in the kitchen of a young lord who wants a french cook.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you do with the recipes?\u201d The woman looked genuinely interested now. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m compiling a reference work of dishes from the cultures of Europe. But mainly I follow them.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cFollow them . . .\u201d Confused, the woman looked around the crowded room, as if the people swirling around them could help her. \u201cHow?\u201d <\/p>\n

Gigi smiled. \u201cThe usual way. In the kitchen.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cYou make the dishes?\u201d The woman tapped Gigi on the arm with her fan. \u201cWith the servants?\u201d Her voice was a squeak. <\/p>\n

\u201cWith the chef who has accompanied us for the last ten years.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cAh.\u201d <\/p>\n

A chef was different. A giant step up from a cook.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Jonathan, Lord Aldridge has been working for the crown since he was forced to return to England and assume the title after his brother’s unexpected death. Currently, the biggest concern is the murder of a folklorist who carried secrets and messages, and the search for his daughter, who may or may not have the treaty he was carrying.<\/p>\n

This story is full of food and cooking and ALSO folklore. And it’s a mystery! It’s like someone wrote a book to check all my boxes.<\/p>\n

And it’s got lovely characters.<\/p>\n

She was far too thin, and Gigi wondered if she was being starved here. It hardly seemed possible, and she didn\u2019t think Iris was someone who would stand for that, but the evidence couldn\u2019t be dismissed. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t mind what I eat, Cook. It\u2019s all good to me.\u201d Mavis blushed at being spoken to directly, and fiddled with her straight brown hair. \u201cNever had too much at home. Too many of us, see? Five brothers and two sisters. And me brothers, they took as much as they could grab. Never was much left for us girls.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been fattening Mavis up,\u201d Iris said, and something in the way she said it made Gigi go very still. <\/p>\n

If this was evidence of Mavis with more meat on her bones, she must have been a walking skeleton when she\u2019d gotten here.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Although she is only a secondary character, Iris is a delight.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou look like a beautiful Viking maiden. I can see you with a raven on your shoulder, riding into battle to choose who will fall and who will be spared.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cEh?\u201d Iris stared at her, holding her ash-smudged hands away from her white apron. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Valkyries. From Norse legend. They rode horses into battle, and chose who was to fall and die.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cNot sure I\u2019d like to have that sort o\u2019 responsibility.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The other thing I find fascinating is that the secondary “bad guy” in this story (not the murderer) is awful, but also completely understandable. You can see why he acts the way he does, and how he justifies his actions. It doesn’t make things he does any better, but it’s comprehensible.<\/p>\n

I really love these characters and this story.<\/p>\n

Publisher: Gallery Books<\/p>\n

Rating: 9.5\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Banquet of Lies (2013) Michelle Diener Set in London in 1812. This is my favorite book in this series–and I like the other two books quite well. Giselle Barrington has seen her father murdered for the secrets her carries. She manages to escape back to London, but does not know who she can turn to, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[192,30,668,24,33,8,41,26],"tags":[616,213,251,547,252],"class_list":["post-11624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-5-10","category-british","category-comfort-read","category-food","category-historical","category-mystery","category-reread","category-romance","tag-cooking","tag-grief","tag-michelle-diener","tag-napoleonic-era","tag-regency-london"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-31u","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":19937,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/19937","url_meta":{"origin":11624,"position":0},"title":"Banquet of Lies","author":"Michelle","date":"April 6, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Banquet of Lies (2013) Michelle Diener (Regency London) I needed to reread this as well. For her, what people ate, and how they ate, was just as interesting as the stories they told. This one is also about food. Her voice was as bitter as burned coffee, and just as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Banquet of Lies","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Banquet-of-Lies-e1511038599836.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":23609,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/23609","url_meta":{"origin":11624,"position":1},"title":"Banquet of Lies","author":"Michelle","date":"May 25, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Banquet of Lies (2013) Michelle Diener (Regency London) Set in London in 1812. Another favorite. \u201cWe\u2019ve been fattening Mavis up,\u201d Iris said, and something in the way she said it made Gigi go very still. If this was evidence of Mavis with more meat on her bones, she must have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Banquet of Lies","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Banquet-of-Lies-e1511038599836.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":21707,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/21707","url_meta":{"origin":11624,"position":2},"title":"Banquet of Lies","author":"Michelle","date":"March 5, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Banquet of Lies (2013) Michelle Diener (Regency London) Set in London in 1812. After witnessing the murder of her father, Giselle Barrington flees back to London. She cannot give into her grief, for she has to find someone to take the information she holds. (H)e\u2019d be looking for the document\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Banquet of Lies","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Banquet-of-Lies-e1511038599836.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":24417,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/24417","url_meta":{"origin":11624,"position":3},"title":"Banquet of Lies","author":"Michelle","date":"April 12, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Banquet of Lies (2013) Michelle Diener (Regency London #2) Set in London in 1812 \u201cHe reacted without thinking.\u201d \u201cHow can you send someone out to starve without thinking?\u201d Iris asked, her voice soft.\u201cWe\u2019ve been fattening Mavis up,\u201d Iris said, and something in the way she said it made Gigi go\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "10\/10"","block_context":{"text":"10\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/10-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Banquet of Lies","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Banquet-of-Lies.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5752,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/5752","url_meta":{"origin":11624,"position":4},"title":"Banquet of Lies","author":"Michelle","date":"March 26, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Banquet of Lies (2013) Michelle Diener Set in London in 1812 Giselle Barrington is the daughter of a folklorist with a fascination for cooking. \u201cWhat do you do with the recipes?\u201d The woman looked genuinely interested now. \u201cI\u2019m compiling a reference work of dishes from the cultures of Europe. But\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Banquet-of-Lies.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":14159,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/14159","url_meta":{"origin":11624,"position":5},"title":"Banquet of Lies","author":"Michelle","date":"March 30, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Banquet of Lies (2013) Michelle Diener (Regency London) Set in London in 1812. Giselle Barrington fled Stockholm after witnessing the murder of her father. Now she has to find not only the killer, but also someone she can trust with the papers they were supposed to bring back to England.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Banquet of Lies","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Banquet-of-Lies-e1511038599836.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11624"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11624\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}