Earlier this year I actually had reviewed another Laurie Alice Eakes titled Lady in the Mist on MiscMayzee. I really, really liked that volume and actually have been stalking Eakes' Amazon author page waiting for news of a new release in The Midwives series that book was a part of. As a matter of fact, I was so concentrating on a new Midwives series volume that I was two chapters into this book before I noticed that this book was by the author of those. (I never read book blurbs beyond an initial skim to avoid spoilers and am more like to reminder a series name vs. an author until I've read several books by the same person.)
All that being said...
Laurie Alice Eakes surprised me by again crafting a wonderfully mysterious storyline that carried just the right amount of romance, spirit, and history. I was quite delighted by this because this volume is actually set in Britain vs. the eastern coast of America (Lady in the Mist was Virginia I believe), and I have seen lesser authors lose their essence when the "scenery" changes.
A Necessary Deception takes place during the years of Napoleon and involves a bit of espionage related to the battles and intelligence war going on between the countries. Lady Grey helps a Frenchman out in the beginning of the book to repay a debt of gratitude and ends up getting in a fix when her assistance is held against her as blackmail. The blackmailer demands that Lady Grey introduce his croonies into upper society or risk a bit family scandal. Who the men are she actually introduces and who they turn out to be in the end might surprise you.
As charming as a I found Lady Grey to be, I actually enjoyed her sisters Honore and Cassandra a bit more because they seemed so vivacious and full of life (despite their missteps) where as Lydia (Lady Grey) took herself soooo seriously for much of the book. However, this was her obstacle to overcome on a way to a deeper faith, and the book makes that quite clear which helps you read through her and pull a bit for her too...especially when things get dicey.
I would rate this book a 4 out of 5. I didn't love it quite as much as I loved Lady in the Mist, but it was good in its own right.
Bonus: I did just check Laurie Alice Eakes website and a new Midwives book launches in early 2012, and it is to be set at sea (another weakness of mine...I've always wondered if there were seafarers in my English Adams or Irish Crenshaw, Kilcrease, and McGaha blood).
A Necessary Deception is available as of October 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
Disclosure: I received a review copy of this volume.
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