About the Book:

Title: A Novel Disguise

Author: Samantha Larsen/Hastings

Publisher: Crooked Lane Books

Release Date: May 16, 2023

Pages: 320

Genre: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Romance, Adult

Synopsis:

When Miss Tiffany Woodall assumes the identity of her half-brother after his death, she realizes she isn’t the only one with a secret to hide in this historical series debut, perfect for fans of Deanna Raybourn and Sherry Thomas.

1784 London. Miss Tiffany Woodall didn’t murder her half-brother, but she did bury him in the back garden so that she could keep her cottage. Now, the confirmed spinster has to pretend to be Uriah and fulfill his duties as the Duke of Beaufort’s librarian while searching Astwell Palace for Uriah’s missing diamond pin, the only thing of value they own. Her ruse is almost up when she is discovered by Mr. Samir Lathrop, the local bookseller, who tries to save her from drowning while she’s actually just washing up in a lake after burying her brother.

Her plan is going by the book, until the rector proposes marriage, and she starts to develop feelings for Mr. Lathrop. But when her childhood friend, Tess, comes to visit, Tiffany quickly realizes her secret isn’t the only one hidden within these walls. The body of a servant is found, along with a collection of stolen items, and someone else grows mysteriously ill. Can Tiffany solve these mysteries without her own disguise being discovered? If not, she’ll lose her cottage and possibly her life.

Review:

*Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and the author for this copy in exchange for review. All thoughts are my own*

I absolutely loved this! It was so great to read a mystery after not having read one for a while. Samanta Larsen/Hastings continues to impress me, and I can’t wait to read more books from her.

In this historical series debut taking place in 1784 England, Tiffany Woodall assumes the identity of her half-brother after discovering him dead in bed and takes her life into her own hands.

Tiffany Woodall did not murder her half-brother, who she shares a likeness with, but she did bury him in the backyard so that she could keep her cottage. The 40-year-old spinster plans to masquerade as Uriah and take over his duties as the Duke of Beufort’s librarian. While working as Uriah in Astwell Palace, she wants to search for Uriah’s missing diamond pin, which is the only thing of value she has left. Her cover is almost blown when Mr. Samir Lathrop, the local bookseller, tries to save her from drowning when she’s actually only bathing in the lake after burying her brother.

After starting work at the palace everything seems to be going according to plan, until the local rector proposes marriage, and she develops feelings for Mr. Lathrop. When her childhood friend Tess comes to visit the palace, she discovers that her secret isn’t the only one hidden in its walls. The body of a servant is found, along with several stolen items, and another person becomes ill quite suddenly. Can Tiffany solve the mysteries without blowing her cover? If not, she may lose her cottage and her own life.

Tiffany was such an amazing character! She had so many responsibilities, like managing her household with the cooking and the cleaning, while also working in the library as Uriah, and keeping her disguise. I often felt myself worrying about Tiffany when she had to switch between roles that someone would figure out her ruse. I think I held my breath a few times! There were also some funny, lighthearted moments that made me laugh out loud.

It was interesting to see the differences in social status between the characters, and how that all played out. This book also touched on other important topics such as women’s rights and racism. The author did some great research for the time period and included that information and some historically accurate events at the back of the book.

I highly recommend this one!

About the Author:

This author also writes as Samantha Hastings