{"id":9211,"date":"2017-08-20T19:44:26","date_gmt":"2017-08-20T23:44:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=9211"},"modified":"2022-10-30T19:56:50","modified_gmt":"2022-10-30T23:56:50","slug":"a-talent-for-trickery-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/9211","title":{"rendered":"A Talent for Trickery"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Talent for Trickery<\/a><\/em> (2015) Alissa Johnson<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Set in England in 1872<\/p>\n

Owen Renderwell is the Gentleman Thief-taker. The rescue of a kidnapped duchess made his name–and the names of his companions, who soon quit to become private investigators.<\/p>\n

Charlotte (Walker) Bales is the daughter of one of the most talented thieves and scoundrels in London, but after her father’s death, fled with her sister and young brother to the country, where no one knew them, to try and rebuild their lives as the Bales family.<\/p>\n

Eight years and not a thing has changed,\u201d she drawled. \u201cI vow, I feel a young woman of two-and-twenty again.\u201d <\/p>\n

Things had changed. Drastically, in his mind. They\u2019d been friends once. But her father\u2019s death had shattered her world, and for that, it seemed she would never forgive him.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Several thefts and a murder have brought Owen back to Charlotte, because she was her father’s aide in encryption and… other things.<\/p>\n

One of the many excellent things about this story is how Peter, the younger brother is portrayed.<\/p>\n

Peter was fourteen. He still secretly (he thought) slept with the small embroidered blanket she\u2019d purchased during his infancy, and he ogled girls like a randy old man. He was a good boy. He truly was. But sometimes he raged over nothing or seemed to become indignant over everything.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Exactly like a fourteen year-old boy.<\/p>\n

Another thing I especially like is that although there are serious misunderstandings between Owen and Charlotte, they aren’t stupid misunderstandings, and when it’s realized that they are misunderstandings, things are cleared up and that stupidity is past. It doesn’t mean either trusts easily, but that lack of trust is easily comprehended.<\/p>\n

It was a distressing predicament to stand at the crossroads of justified fury and complete remorse with no clear sense of which direction one ought to step.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And they’re fun together, especially when she’s still mad at him.<\/p>\n

\u201cInsightful of you,\u201d she said with a glance over her shoulder. <\/p>\n

He stepped up beside her. \u201cYou needn\u2019t sound stunned. Some people consider me a man of exceptional insight.\u201d <\/p>\n

Other people considered him a barbaric reprobate and a disgrace to titled gentlemen the world over. She looked at him with great pity. \u201cMight these people be your mother?\u201d <\/p>\n

His mother belonged in the category of \u201cother people,\u201d but he appreciated the barb nonetheless.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Also, she’s not stupid.
\n(H)he looked at her, expression cool and unyielding, and mouthed the word, Stay<\/em>. <\/p>\n

Which was both insulting (she wasn\u2019t a hound to be ordered about) and unnecessary. Of course she was going to stay. Where was the sense in going downstairs?<\/p>\n

I quite liked this–despite the boinking.
\nRating: 8.5\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

A Talent for Trickery (2015) Alissa Johnson Set in England in 1872 Owen Renderwell is the Gentleman Thief-taker. The rescue of a kidnapped duchess made his name–and the names of his companions, who soon quit to become private investigators. Charlotte (Walker) Bales is the daughter of one of the most talented thieves and scoundrels in […]<\/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":[191,30,33,8,41,26,56],"tags":[156,50,557],"class_list":["post-9211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-8-5-10","category-british","category-historical","category-mystery","category-reread","category-romance","category-sexual-content","tag-alissa-johnson","tag-boinking","tag-victorian"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-2oz","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":13369,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/13369","url_meta":{"origin":9211,"position":0},"title":"A Talent for Trickery","author":"Michelle","date":"August 23, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"A Talent for Trickery (2015) Alissa Johnson (The Thief-Takers) Set in England in 1872. It's still the time for falling back on old favorites. This book was my introduction to Alissa Johnson, and I immediately snatched up everything by her I could find. Charlotte Walker (now Bales) was the daughter\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 Talent for Trickery","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/A-Talent-for-Trickery-e1511012717126.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":20113,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/20113","url_meta":{"origin":9211,"position":1},"title":"A Talent for Trickery","author":"Michelle","date":"July 13, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"A Talent for Trickery (2015) Alissa Johnson (The Thief-Takers) Set in England in 1872 Owen Renderwell, the first Viscount Renderwell and Gentleman Thief-Taker needs to solve a series of crimes. And to do so, he needs the help of a woman he hasn't spoken to in eight years. A woman\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 Talent for Trickery","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/A-Talent-for-Trickery-e1511012717126.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5829,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/5829","url_meta":{"origin":9211,"position":2},"title":"A Talent for Trickery","author":"Michelle","date":"May 4, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"A Talent for Trickery (2015) Alissa Johnson Set in England in 1872 I somehow missed writing this one up last month, so here it is now. I am not sure about the accuracy of the term \"Gentleman Thief Taker\" since the thief-takers were replaced by Bow Street in the mid\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "British"","block_context":{"text":"British","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/british"},"img":{"alt_text":"A-Talent-for-Trickery","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/A-Talent-for-Trickery.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11616,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/11616","url_meta":{"origin":9211,"position":3},"title":"A Talent for Trickery","author":"Michelle","date":"February 7, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"A Talent for Trickery (2015) Alissa Johnson Set in England in 1872 Owen Renderwell and his partners became famous as the Thief-Takers who rescued a kidnapped duchess, so they became private investigators, however, a series of thefts followed by a murder returns them to the criminals who assisted the government\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":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/A-Talent-for-Trickery-e1511012717126.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9276,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/9276","url_meta":{"origin":9211,"position":4},"title":"McAlistair’s Fortune","author":"Michelle","date":"September 8, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"McAlistair's Fortune (2009) Alissa Johnson Set in England in 1814 Evie Cole has lived with her cousins since she was a young girl. After her father's death in a carriage accident, her mother was unwilling to care for her, so the injured child moved to Haldon Hall and remained there\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":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/McAllisters-Fortune.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9272,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/9272","url_meta":{"origin":9211,"position":5},"title":"Tempting Fate","author":"Michelle","date":"September 8, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Tempting Fate (2009) Alissa Johnson Set in England in 1813 Whittaker Cole, Earl of Thurston, and Miss Mirabelle Browning have fought and argued with each other since they were young. Whit's mother, however, has had enough and orders him to bury the hatchet and behave themselves, for it's possible his\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Tempting-Fate.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9211","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=9211"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9211\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}