"Fine Regency romance"
In 1813, Agatha Cunningham flees her home to avoid the
unwanted advances of her odious neighbor, "Repulsive"
Reggie Peasley and to find her missing brother James. In
order to travel by herself, Agatha pretends to be married
to Mortimer Applequist, an imaginary person she
conveniently made up. However, her lies have caught up
with her as the London ladies she recently met demand
meeting her fictional spouse. Simon "Rain" Raines heads the Liar's Club, a group of
pickpockets and thieves who work for the King in search of
French spies. He thinks his former best friend and
associate James Cunningham turned traitor as he has been
missing for several weeks, secret operatives have been
killed, and his bank account has grown. He goes to James'
home to encounter the man's mistress, a Mrs. Applequist,
but garbs the disguise of a chimneysweep. Before he knows
what happened, he pretends to be Mr. Applequist. As he and
Agatha fall in love, Simon wonders how will she react when
he arrests her lover, not knowing that James is her brother. Regency romance fans will take immense pleasure in the
first Liar's Club novel, a fun tale due to the outrageous
antics of the intrepid heroine (sort of like a Baroness
Munchausen). Simon is a delightful protagonist trying to
overcome being the son of a Covent Garden whore who traded
her body for meal money for them and an unknown father.
This delightful winner belongs to Agatha, whose spins are
clever and fabulous as she learns "oh what a web we weave
when we first deceive". Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted May 16, 2003
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A daring charade leads to forbidden desire...
SHE HAD A SECRET SHE'D DO ANYTHING TO HIDE. Agatha Cunnington, headstrong beauty from the country, has come to London in search of her missing brother James. The only clue she has is a cryptic letter signed "The Griffin." Agatha decides to disguise herself as a respectable married woman so that she can go about the city unnoticed. But for her charade to work she needs a suitable "husband," preferably someone tall, elegant and rakish--Someone like Simon Rain. HE HAD A SECRET HE'D DO ANYTHING TO HIDE. Simon Rain is a member of the Liar's Club, a renegade group of rogues and thieves in the service of the Crown. When someone begins murdering members of the undercover cabal one by one, Simon is given the mission to bring in James Cunnington, one of his comrades who is suspected of betraying his brothers. Simon goes undercover and infiltrates the home of "Mrs." Agatha Applequist--who he believes is James's mistress. Before Simon knows what's happened, he finds himself irresistibly drawn to Agatha's soft, feminine charms--and he is tempted beyond reason to break the first rule of the Liar's Club: Never fall in love. Genre: Historical Romance; Regency
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