The only real question I am having is that it feels more like a Book 2, as the heroine starts out as a widow with questions about what happened to her husband. Did anyone else notice this? I like the book though. I enjoyed the cats woven into the story. The only thing I didn't quite understand was whether or not it would be realistic for the time period for one of the daughters to worry that getting married might mean giving up her interest in aeronautics. There are several references to the daughters' concerns about what personal freedom they would be giving up to be married, and I'm not sure that was really a burning question for young women at that time. Otherwise, I enjoyed visiting this time period. A Necessary Deception offers fresh perspective to the rather hackneyed London season - the heroine is a matron, not a debutante! A perfectly respectable lady of quality (and a young widow), she is helping her sisters come out and marry rather than coming out herself. I also appreciate that she is responsible (quite the contrast to her youngest sister), and while she doesn't always make the right decision, at least she uses her head. The mystery is quite complex - I really didn't know who was behind the blackmail or how each of the men in question fit in, other than firmly believing that the hero was truly innocent, until it was explained. Though I must reiterate, if the villain would just go ahead and dispose of the good guys while he has the chance instead of boasting and playing cat-and-mouse, he would have a chance to carry on with his wicked ways and shock the world with his memoirs another day.
