👒🎪🔎 “A Beautiful Disguise” (The Imposters #1) (2023) 🔎🎪👒 – Book Review

 

MY REVIEW 

 

 

Series: The Imposters (Book #1) 
Paperback: 368 Pages 
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers (August 22, 2023) 
Language: English 
ISBN 10: 0764240927 
ISBN-13: 978-0764240928
⬅️ Click Photo for Purchase Information 

 

“In Edwardian London, not all that glitters is gold as a lady and an intelligence officer's secret mission take them from the city's dazzling ballrooms to its covert intelligence offices.

 

Sir Merritt Livingstone has spent a decade serving the monarch in the field, but when pneumonia lands him behind a desk in the War Office Intelligence Division just as they're creating a new secret intelligence branch, he's intent on showing his worth. He suspects an aristocrat of leaking information to Germany as tensions mount between the two countries, but he needs someone to help him prove it, so he turns to The Imposters, Ltd. No one knows who they are, but their results are beyond compare.

 

Left with an estate on the brink of bankruptcy after their father's death, Lady Marigold Fairfax and her brother open a private investigation firm for the elite to spy on the elite. Dubbed The Imposters, Ltd., their anonymous group soon becomes the go-to for the crème of society who want answers delivered surreptitiously. But the many secrets Marigold learns about her peers pale in comparison to her shock when she and her brother are hired to investigate her best friend's father as a potential traitor.

 

Lady Marigold is determined to discover the truth for her friend's sake, and she's more determined still to keep her heart from getting involved with this enigmatic new client . . . who can't possibly be as noble as he seems.” 

 

Thank you in advance to the publisher, Bethany House (a division of Baker Books), for providing a complimentary review copy through the author’s launch team. A positive review was not required nor requested, and all words are my own. 

My “sort-of” introduction to the author’s work was in late 2020, I signed up for a Bookstagram campaign to feature the author’s Dreams of Savannah. And, that is STILL on my TBR list. However, it sounded interesting enough to cause me to lookout for her other works.

 

In May 2021, I was able to read and review not only my first book by the author, but the first book in her Isles of Scilly series (set near England in 1906) – The Nature of a Lady, and I LOVED it. I loved it so much that I read the other two books – To Treasure and Heiress and Worthy of Legend.

 

I’ve read a prohibition-era noir book (Shadowed Loyalty), and a dual-time/historical fiction novel (Yesterday’s Tides WWI/WWII) by White. All I have greatly enjoyed. 

 

Knowing she was heading back to England with this series, I had to read it. And, I’ll admit – I enjoy learning about the origins of certain law enforcement agencies either here, or abroad. I tend more towards romantic/suspense books, especially those with FBI, U.S Marshals, and local law enforcement. Historical Fiction is one of the genres I waffle in. It depends on the story, as any book in any genre should. 

 

This takes place over the time (and reason) MI5 got started. The agency was founded in 1909, and is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service, Government Communications Headquarters, and Defence Intelligence. [Note the use of the UK spelling]. 

 

It is NOT to be confused with MI6, commonly featured in the James Bond movies. The Secret Intelligence Service, commonly known as MI6, is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligence in support of the UK's national security; founded July 1909. [As of note, a British citizen can apply to MI6 at 17, and given a start date at age 18.]

 

I also wanted to read this because the entire idea of a group of investigators – The Imposters – was new and refreshing. And, this particular “plot” seemed fascinating.

 

As with any first book of a series, the author has to establish the characters – recurring and one-time appearances, as well as lay the foundation for the series and the story as well. And, White did a great job. 

 

The main cast/The Imposters:

 

👒 Marigold Fairfax/Lady “M”

🎩 Yates Fairfax

✒️ Gemma Parks (also writes columns as G.M Parker)

✏️ Graham Warton (architecture enthusiast; knows about Alnwick, home of the Hemmings)

🔎 Sir Merritt Livingstone 

 

Other characters:

 

🎩 Lord Alfred Hemming

👒 Lady Frances Hemming

👒 Lady Lavinia Hemming

🎩 Lord Xavier Hasting

🔎 Colonel May

 

These are in addition to the “circus troupe” employees/friends of the Fairfaxes., as well as other friends/associates of the Fairfaxes. 

 

Although there are a lot of characters; only Marigold, Merritt, and Yates have a POV in the story. It is mostly told through Marigold and Merritt’s. 

 

This begins with The Imposters having been hired to find out if a Lord Emory is being cut out of something, and it looks like he might be. And, Marigold uses some interesting tactics to listen in. 

 

Merritt has recently been promoted and knighted due to his military service, but a bout of pneumonia has him assigned to a desk – something he doesn’t enjoy. Of course, he does have a case to investigate for a new agency. And, he and Xavier have been invited to the home of Lord Hemming where they meet Marigold.

 

Xavier is trying to court Lavinia while Merritt is trying to investigate Lord Hemming, hoping his suspicions about the man are wrong. He enlists The Imposters to help him. Marigold is also hoping her friend’s father has nothing to do with what is going on. 

 

Pretty soon, both Merritt and Marigold find themselves working together. And, the mystery heats up when the death of a close friend hits home. 

 

Not only does Merritt want to know the truth of the man’s death, he also wants to know what Lord Hemming is up to – if anything. Merritt also finds himself wanting Marigold’s company more than just as “friends”. 

 

While, at the same time, something between Graham and Gemma is brewing over to a boiling point. 

 

White keeps one reading until the last page with a story filled with potential espionage, circus troupe, wild animals, murders, a company that someone wants, secret identities, wild costumes, and a strained relationship within The Imposters.  

 

I was immediately drawn into the story, and it held my attention. Though, at times, it seemed “over the big-top”. I loved the mystery of the spy factor, given how close it was to WWI and the involvement of the Germans. 

 

One thing that did sort of stretch my believability meter was the circus troupe element – Marigold and Yates working on the trapeze, as well as the animals on the grounds of their home – lions, leopards, even a pet capuchin monkey. That part of the plot did seem to distract me a bit, and caused the story to lag. The short chapters did help keep me reading though. I don’t know if the story would’ve been the same without that particular plot, as some elements were essential to Marigold’s work. But, it was a bit tedious. 

 

White almost right off delved into some of the plot, but the absolute heart and soul of it wasn’t until about half-way into the book. 

 

I have to admit, that once certain things were revealed, I SORT OF had an inkling as to someone’s deceit and treachery, though I didn’t expect the entire involvement of it to be what it was. It was an interesting and different take. 

 

I also didn’t know about the author William LeQueux, whose books were so fascinating, he had England thinking he had insider information. That was interesting and informative. 

 

The Adams/Dormer/Swedish Ambassador meeting/storyline that took place in the beginning wasn’t revisited, and I am wondering if that was intention on the author’s part for use in another book in the series. 

 

The story sticks to the genre – historical fiction with the mystery, and there is a romance between Merritt and Marigold. Though, that is more of a friends-to-more and a slow, but sweet burn type. There is some humor in it, nothing that is outlandish or inappropriate given the topic. 

 

I am eagerly awaiting the next book, A Noble Scheme, coming in March 2024 as I need to know the background between Gemma and Graham. Their story gets somewhat of a vague beginning in this book.

 

Since this is distributed by a primarily Christian publisher, there will be some references to God and faith. These are mild and not done so that the reader feels preached to. This is a wholesome book with no bad language, and intimacy is kept to hugs and kisses. 

 

Fans of the author might want to check this one out for the mystery alone. That was definitely my favorite part of the book. 

 

 

 

RATING:  

 

4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Goodreads  

  

4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Bookbub  

 

4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Personal Rating (see rating explanation in this blog: https://readingexcursions.blogspot.com/2020/01/rating-system-2020-changes.html; update: https://readingexcursions.blogspot.com/2022/07/what-goes-into-my-reviews-2022-edition.html) 

 

 

 

Next Book in the Series:

 

 

Series: The Imposters (Book #2)

Paperback: 368 Pages

Publisher: Bethany House Publishers (March 19, 2024)

Language: English

ISBN 10: 0764240935

ISBN-13: 978- 0764240935

⬆️ Click Photo for Pre-Order Information

 

“Gemma Parks is known throughout high society as G. M. Parker, a columnist renowned for her commentary on the cream of society. Behind the scenes, she uses her talent to aid the Imposters in their investigations by gathering intel at events and providing alibis for the elite firm's members through her columns. Yet her clandestine work would be more exhilarating if it weren't for the constant presence of the gentleman who broke her heart.

 

Graham Wharton has never had eyes for anyone but Gemma, and she left his soul in tatters when she walked away from him. When the Imposters take on a new job to recover a kidnapped boy mistaken for his aristocratic cousin, Graham is determined to use the time with Gemma not only to restore the missing boy, but also to win back the only woman he's ever loved. As they trace the clues laid out before them, Graham must devise a noble scheme to save the boy's life and heal their hearts.”

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

 

 

Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award-winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she's homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary. You can learn more about her and her stories  www.roseannamwhite.com.

 

 

You can also find her on the following social media accounts:

 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RoseannaMWhite

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roseannamwhite/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RoseannaMWhite

 

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