A Lady in Disguise

February 15, 2017
Gillian Young, granddaughter of a lord, has just buried her father and inherited her mother's rundown family estate. Meeting a handsome neighbor, Viscount Lockwood, results in immediate attraction, but is he passionate about Gillian or her property? Further confusion occurs when Gillian learns her father was suspected of abusing his position as a policeman. Seeking the truth brings danger, threatening Gillian's livelihood and her life. Literary references abound in the second in Byrd's Daughters of Hampshire series, following Bride of a Distant Isle (2016), including quotes from Little Women and Henry V, while historical facts arise in plotlines about child labor and sex trafficking. The only explicit lust is of the textile variety: Gillian is seamstress to the wealthy and the theater world, prompting Byrd to offer detailed descriptions of sumptuous fabrics, beading, and the like. This Victorian inspirational romance features everything fans of the genre expect: a plucky, relatable heroine with a visible Christian faith, a dashing but kind love interest, and a mystery element to foster tension until the denouement and happy ever after epilogue.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)