Banquet of Lies

by Michelle Diener

A young noblewoman flees to London and poses as a servant to evade a murderer in this richly detailed and “compelling” (Publishers Weekly) historical novel.

A SECRET TREATY AND A SECRET LIFE

LONDON, 1812: Giselle Barrington is living a double life, juggling the duties of chef with those of spy catcher. She must identify her father’s savage killer before the shadowy man finds her and uncovers the explosive political document her father entrusted to her safekeeping.

Posing as a French cook in the home of Lord Aldridge, Giselle is surrounded by unlikely allies and vicious enemies. In the streets where she once walked freely among polite society, she now hides in plain sight, learning the hard lessons of class distinction and negotiating the delicate balance between servant and master.

Lord Aldridge’s insatiable curiosity about his mysterious new chef blurs the line between civic duty and outright desire. Carefully watching Giselle’s every move, he undertakes a mission to figure out who she really is—and, in the process, plunges her straight into the heart of danger when her only hope for survival is to remain invisible.

• ISBN10: 1451684460
• ISBN13: 9781451684469
• Publish Date: 22 October 2013
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 16 February 2022
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Simon & Schuster
• Format: eBook (EPUB)
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[kimbacaffeinate]

4.5 Giselle is absolutely delightful and is quite clever thanks to her unusual upbringing. I love strong heroines who are feisty, a little snarky, and book smart. She is not afraid to handle the task at hand. Giselle was brave, even when she wanted to hide and I enjoyed watching her escapades. Lord Aldridge is kind to his servants and happily assists the government. He is quite fetching and clever. I loved watching Giselle completely unravel him. The two had a lovely chemistry in this slow building romance that took back stage to the suspenseful plot. Other characters included characters we meet in previous books added to the tale and kept me flipping the pages.

Banquet of Lies delivers a suspenseful mystery that kept me engaged. Diener effortlessly spun this tale and literally swept me up with the colorful characters, and engaging plot. I could smell the bread rising, see the sneer on the head servants face, and taste the danger as Giselle fled through the streets. While the romance was a welcome thread and added both humor and excitement to the tale. The characters felt genuine from the servants to the villains and I appreciated how even secondary characters were memorable. Diener is brilliant at clean, romantic suspense especially in this era. I am hoping she continues to deliver more of these tales. She skillfully weaved historical details into the tale making it feel authentic all while keeping it light and engaging.

Copy received in exchange for unbiased review.Full review​ originally published and can be found @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer