{"id":9209,"date":"2017-08-20T19:27:37","date_gmt":"2017-08-20T23:27:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=9209"},"modified":"2025-10-01T18:52:41","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T22:52:41","slug":"a-dangerous-madness-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/9209","title":{"rendered":"A Dangerous Madness"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Dangerous Madness<\/a><\/em> (2014) Michelle Diener<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Set in England in 1812<\/p>\n

The third (and sadly, it seems) book in this series.<\/p>\n

Phoebe and Sheldrake’s engagment came at the insistance of their families, which is why despite her many misgivings, Phoebe acquiesced.<\/p>\n

\u201cSheldrake?\u201d She peered at the man taking up most of the small space. <\/p>\n

\u201cGood grief, keep it down, would you?\u201d <\/p>\n

Phoebe\u2019s betrothed’s forceful whisper was as loud as her soft-spoken question, but she bit her tongue. <\/p>\n

She wondered what her tongue would look like after they\u2019d spent a lifetime together. Maybe one day she\u2019d bite it in half.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Duke of Wittaker has spent the past several years living as a dissolute rake–at the urging of his father.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But he has played the part so long that he was starting to become that part, and so has decided to retire and take up the dukedom. Except that the murder of the prime minister has caused Lord Dervish to request one last favor.<\/p>\n

He’d approved of Perceval’s practical support of the abolition of the slave trade, but found the man himself objectionable. When facing off against his political opponents, Perceval attacked the individual, not their policies, leading James to think he didn’t have the intelligence to argue against them.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

When it’s found that Sheldrake has disappeared, Whittaker goes to Phoebe to see if she was told anything in passing–and finds that Sheldrake has placed her in danger.<\/p>\n

Now Phoebe wants the freedom she has been granted–freedom she hadn’t realized she wanted.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Fascinatingly, this mystery is based upon actual events (as were the previous books in the series), and those are utterly fascinating, as were the historical tidbits dropped through these stories.<\/p>\n

Coffee houses in general didn’t allow women, and certainly not ones like the Baltick, where trade and business were conducted.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Phoebe and Whittaker had just come from a pub where no one batted an eye at them, but Phoebe couldn’t go into a coffee house. <\/p>\n

This was already known to me the first time I read this book, but STILL it boggles my mind.<\/p>\n

It also has an utterly lovely scene, where James has followed her into an alley as they are searching for a suspect.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don’t have to decide right now.\u201d He bent his head and rested his forehead on hers. \u201cI just wanted you to know, for me, there is no going back. You have me completely captivated. I have no plan to end our liaison. And I would make it permanent as soon as you give me your answer.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI’d take him up on that, luv.\u201d <\/p>\n

Phoebe looked up, blinking back the rain, and saw three women hanging out of their windows, mindless of the soaking they were getting, watching them with smiles on their faces. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe looks like a nob in that fancy coat, even though he’s soaked through an’ all. And he likes to cuddle you close. That’s always a good sign.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That scene just delights me.<\/p>\n

As with the previous two books, I highly recommend this one, and dearly wish there were more to come.
\nRating: 8.5\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n

Published by Michelle Diener<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Dangerous Madness (2014) Michelle Diener Set in England in 1812 The third (and sadly, it seems) book in this series. Phoebe and Sheldrake’s engagment came at the insistance of their families, which is why despite her many misgivings, Phoebe acquiesced. \u201cSheldrake?\u201d She peered at the man taking up most of the small space. \u201cGood […]<\/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":[191,30,668,33,207,8,41,26],"tags":[213,874,251,547,252,875],"class_list":["post-9209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-8-5-10","category-british","category-comfort-read","category-historical","category-mental-health-rep","category-mystery","category-reread","category-romance","tag-grief","tag-john-bellingham","tag-michelle-diener","tag-napoleonic-era","tag-regency-london","tag-spenser-percival"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-2ox","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14161,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/14161","url_meta":{"origin":9209,"position":0},"title":"A Dangerous Madness","author":"Michelle","date":"March 31, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"A Dangerous Madness (2014) Michelle Diener (Regency London) Set in London in May 1812, around the actual historical events of the assassination of the Prime Minister. I love this series so much! He bent his head and rested his forehead on hers. \u201cI just wanted you to know, for me,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"A Dangerous Madness","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/A-Dangerous-Madness-e1510885658255.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":19943,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/19943","url_meta":{"origin":9209,"position":1},"title":"A Dangerous Madness","author":"Michelle","date":"April 17, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"A Dangerous Madness (2014) Michelle Diener (Regency London) Set in England in 1819. Phoebe Hillier has always done everything she was supposed to, following all the rules. But when the man to whom she was betrothed (and her father's insistence) breaks their engagement, she seemingly has little to lose any\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"A Dangerous Madness","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/A-Dangerous-Madness-e1510885658255.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5763,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/5763","url_meta":{"origin":9209,"position":2},"title":"A Dangerous Madness","author":"Michelle","date":"March 27, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"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\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"A-Dangerous-Madness","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/A-Dangerous-Madness.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":24422,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/24422","url_meta":{"origin":9209,"position":3},"title":"A Dangerous Madness","author":"Michelle","date":"April 17, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"A Dangerous Madness (2014) Michelle Diener (Regency London, #3) Set in London in 1812 \u201cYou don't . . . have the time for it?\u201d Her words seemed to be coming from far, far away. \u201cNo. I\u2019m . . . well, soon I\u2019ll be in a bit of bother, m\u2019dear. 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Maybe one day she\u2019d bite it in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"A Dangerous Madness","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/A-Dangerous-Madness-e1510885658255.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":23712,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/23712","url_meta":{"origin":9209,"position":5},"title":"A Dangerous Madness","author":"Michelle","date":"June 17, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"A Dangerous Madness (2014) Michelle Diener (Regency London #3) Set in London in 1812 \u201cI can't marry you, Pheebs. I know that's going to make things difficult for you and I want to go through with it, of course I do, it would solve a number of problems, but I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"A Dangerous Madness","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/A-Dangerous-Madness-e1510885658255.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\/9209","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=9209"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9209\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}