Banquet of Lies

by Michelle Diener

Frightened for her life after her father, a British spy, is murdered, Giselle Barrington flees with the secret document her father gave her for safekeeping. Needing to hide from those now chasing her, and knowing that no one would look for a wealthy young society lady in a kitchen, she takes a job as a cook for a nobleman, determined to use her anonymity to uncover the murderer. Life below stairs gives her a new perspective on the hard realities of servants' lives, even though she's a highly paid one. And when her employer is drawn not only into her investigations, but also to her, they find themselves faced with the power imbalance between servant and master.

• ISBN10: 1451684452
• ISBN13: 9781451684452
• Publish Date: 22 October 2013
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 17 February 2016
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Imprint: Gallery
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• 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