- Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: Avon; Original edition (Jan 19 2009)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 006144748X
- ISBN-13: 978-0061447488
- Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 13.5 x 2.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 222 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #441,839 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Review
“Peacock skillfully interweaves figures of real Victoria London, while avoiding the genre’s typical focus on aristocracy. London’s artistic underbelly is grimy, gritty, and has instant appeal that the ton can’t match. The mystery flows smoothly, with well-placed red herrings, excellent reveals and pleasing surprises.” (Publishers Weekly )
“A plucky protagonist who refuses to back down as an increasingly murky plot surfaces...” (London's Sunday Observer )
“A Dangerous Affair is not only a good mystery, but also a very good Victorian novel. Peacock has a wonderful grasp of Victorian soceity, and helps bring it to life through her well written and entertaining young Liberty.” (Sacramento Book Review )
“A plucky protagonist who refuses to back down as an increasingly murky plot surfaces...” (London's Sunday Observer )
“A Dangerous Affair is not only a good mystery, but also a very good Victorian novel. Peacock has a wonderful grasp of Victorian soceity, and helps bring it to life through her well written and entertaining young Liberty.” (Sacramento Book Review )
Book Description
Caro Peacock, the acclaimed author of A Foreign Affair, once again ingeniously blends history, suspense, and adventure and returns an endearing and exceptional heroine to the fictional fold.
In Victoria's England, there are perilous intrigues a proper young lady would do well to avoid . . .
Liberty Lane, still in her early twenties, is doing her best to make a new life for herself in London after being bruised by loss and treachery. But there's no chance for her to settle down as a conventional young lady. First, a disturbingly attractive young politician, Benjamin Disraeli, wants her to use her contacts in the theatre world to find out more about a prima ballerina with a notorious love life called Columbine. He hints that some important interests may be at stake. Then Columbine is murdered in her dressing room, after an on-stage brawl with a younger and less successful dancer, who becomes prime suspect. Liberty is at the center of the investigation because one of her dearest friends, Daniel Suter, is convinced of the girl's innocence and will put his own neck in danger to save her. Liberty's determination to save them from the gallows leads her from the upper reaches of the aristocracy to some of London's lowlife haunts, posing the question: How far would you go to save a friend?
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Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Fun Victorian Cosy Mystery,
By
This review is from: A Dangerous Affair (Paperback)
The book starts with Liberty and a friend visiting someone in prison who is to be hanged shortly. Then the plot moves back in time to before the murder and approximately directly after the events of the first book. Liberty's friend is in love with one of the dancers in a ballet and the evening Liberty goes to the ballet the Prima donna attacks the loved one on stage and a fight ensues. Later that evening the Prima donna is found dead in her room and the loved one is eventually convicted of the crime and sentenced to hang. Liberty, along with her friends from the first book, set off to track down the real killer.In the first of this series I had reservations about the main character, Liberty Lane, being to modern for her Victorian setting. This time around Peacock has fleshed the character out more and kept her within the confines of her time. She is a much more believable character now and I quite enjoyed this book for the cosy mystery it is. Historical events take place around the characters giving the sense of a real time setting. The mystery has lots of twists and turns and the ending is surprising. The ending also sets the stage for more books in the series. This is a fun romp in Victorian England with unique characters and a very enjoyable cosy mystery.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.0 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews) 3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Fabulous period details elevate this book over more typical murder mysteries,
By Gwendolyn Dawson "Literary License" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: A Dangerous Affair (Paperback)
In this historical mystery novel, Liberty Lane must solve the puzzling murder of a famous dancer in order to save her best friend's sanity and his beloved's life. The story unfolds in Victorian London, and the book is filled with realistic period details and even a few cameo appearances by historical figures (including Benjamin Disraeli). In one scene, Liberty describes the contents of a produce basket received by a typical Victorian family from the family's country estate:"Like many families in town, the Talbots had produce sent to them regularly .... I knelt down beside [Mrs. Talbot] and helped as she lifted treasure after treasure from the hamper, unswathing them from snow-white napkins: pork pies ornamented with pastry cutouts of leaves and roses, and glazed so brightly they reflected the light; rich fruitcakes with their tops cracking to show insides packed with raisins and cherries; almond tarts and spiced biscuits. ... Four huge hams wrapped in muslin took up the corners of the hamper. ... [E]ven at this time of year there were still apples, wrinkled but sweet-smelling, and a few pears. A deep bed of straw cradled jars of jam and chutney." Clearly, Peacock has done her research, and this novel's richly imagined setting is what elevates this book over more typical murder mysteries. This book's other advantages include a plucky, likeable protagonist and a well-crafted--and very easy to follow--plot. This isn't highbrow literature, but adult and teenaged fans of mysteries will enjoy A Dangerous Affair. 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Falls short,
By Luxx Mishley "Luxx" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: A Dangerous Affair (Paperback)
I went into "A Dangerous Affair" cold, not having read "A Foreign Affair." As such, I have to admit that reading the sequel without having read the original novel may in fact have had a negative impact on my reading."A Dangerous Affair" is sweet enough as a young adult novel, but I found it wanting in several ways; Peacock's plot is unoriginal, and her characters are often 2-dimensional. As a student of literature and a Victorian enthusiast I held high hopes for Peacock's novel, and was largely disappointed. However, I would certainly recommend the book for high school students, especially those that can be difficult to engage. 2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
terrific early Victorian whodunit,
By Harriet Klausner - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: A Dangerous Affair (Paperback)
In his thirties recently elected to Parliament,"watch dog" Benjamin Disraeli offers Liberty Lane a fee to spy on dancer Columbine, whose disreputable behavior could lead to a nasty highly publicized scandal. Needing the money, Liberty reluctantly agrees. However, someone poisons Columbine with the London police leaning towards rival dancer Jenny as the prime suspect as she and the deceased had a public dispute.Liberty thinks otherwise, but there is mounting pressure to execute Jenny, already convicted by the public, the media, and the cops, for the murder. To prevent a double injustice of the wrong person being hung while the real killer is free, Liberty investigates ably assisted by Amos the groom. They begin to unravel a series of murky deceptions in which the influential and the downtrodden are tied together in secrecy. The sequel to A FOREIGN AFFAIR is a terrific early Victorian whodunit that uses real historical persons to anchor time and place. Liberty is an intelligent sleuth and her sidekick Amos serves as a sort of Watson. The mystery is cleverly devised with fabulous plausible spins and misdirections as Caro peacock furbishes an entertaining early nineteenth century investigative tale. Harriet Klausner |
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