2022 historical thriller, seventh of its series. A Missing Heir has
shown up. Well, maybe. Veronica knew the real man back in the day, and
is asked to see if she recognises him…
It is, of course, more complicated than that, and while I'll
avoid major spoilers it quickly becomes apparent that this particular
chap is a disreputable but charming rogue from Veronica's past. But he
tells a genuinely affecting tale of having reformed…
Well, I was predisposed against this book because I find the "charming
rogue" archetype really annoying. I've met too many of them in
reality and not one has been in any way a good thing for anyone about
them, except to provide brief entertainment at great cost. And so, as
when a fictional detective doesn't spot an obvious piece of evidence,
I get frustrated when the characters fall for the patter. But at least
in this case (a) they have some reason to find him convincing and (b)
they aren't entirely taken in; I'm still not comfortable with this
trope but once more (as in A Murderous Relation) Raybourn manages to
pull off the trick in a way that at least feels reasonable and doesn't
involve my losing respect for the characters.
There are other things going on too: the younger sister who's come
under the thumb of the older brother's social-climbing wife (in some
ways seeming like a younger Veronica, but without the confidence or
funds to split from the family and make her own life), an adventuress,
and of course an impossibly valuable diamond to tie things together.
For me at least this was a return to form after the slight
disappointment of the previous book.