Book Description
Two Series of Murders Seem Mysteriously Connected
Step into True Colors -- a series of Historical Stories of Romance and American Crime
Could a series of murders in London in 1889 be related to unsolved murders in Austin, Texas, 1884? Queen Victoria wants to know and asks her granddaughter—who left the queen’s good graces by going off to America to become a Pinkerton agent—to quietly look for any connection. The catch is the queen doesn’t want her to do it alone. Alice Anne must find her former Pinkerton agent partner—now an attorney in Austin—and enlist him in the hunt. As the pair get closer to finding their suspect, their lives become endangered, but they refuse to be intimidated. Can this case be solved?
Step into True Colors -- a series of Historical Stories of Romance and American Crime
Could a series of murders in London in 1889 be related to unsolved murders in Austin, Texas, 1884? Queen Victoria wants to know and asks her granddaughter—who left the queen’s good graces by going off to America to become a Pinkerton agent—to quietly look for any connection. The catch is the queen doesn’t want her to do it alone. Alice Anne must find her former Pinkerton agent partner—now an attorney in Austin—and enlist him in the hunt. As the pair get closer to finding their suspect, their lives become endangered, but they refuse to be intimidated. Can this case be solved?
Review
I received a dARC copy of this book from the publisher. Here is my honest review.
I have read several books in this series and thoroughly enjoyed them. This book explores a series of unsolved murders in both Austin and London during the late 1800s. The Jack the Ripper cases are well known; as a native Texan, I was not aware of the slew of murders in Austin that many believe are connected to the Ripper cases. I read almost half the book the first night - mainly because I was trying to figure out if the main characters were completely fictitious. In past books, they are yet the details around the crime are well researched and key players from history appear in the story. In this book, there's just a few things that are hard to believe. First, Annie, the heroine, is written as a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria. She either needs to truly be a granddaughter of the queen or should have been a much more distant relative. The other detail that really bothered me was the ending where Annie and her sister both seek to marry men outside of their social and economic circle and that it is easily allowed. I just don't buy it - not for the time in history. I believe women wanted more, but I don't believe that would be a choice women would be able to take, and certainly not royal women.
I really enjoyed the segment of the book that focused on the Austin murders; this series does such a good job of shedding light on historical crimes that would have been headlines in their time but that have also been forgotten. I wish there had been a little more time spent in London on the Ripper cases, but that's not the point of the story and of course, the killer has not been found. For such a complicated and well-known set of crimes, I like the way Y'Barbo handled the story.
This series is terrific for readers who love mystery and/or historical romance.
I really enjoyed the segment of the book that focused on the Austin murders; this series does such a good job of shedding light on historical crimes that would have been headlines in their time but that have also been forgotten. I wish there had been a little more time spent in London on the Ripper cases, but that's not the point of the story and of course, the killer has not been found. For such a complicated and well-known set of crimes, I like the way Y'Barbo handled the story.
This series is terrific for readers who love mystery and/or historical romance.
I gave this book: ★★★
★ = I did not like it ★★ = It was okay ★★★ = I liked it ★★★★ = I really liked it ★★★★★ = I loved it
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