October 28, 2013

Banquet of Lies by Michelle Diener


I received this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.


Banquet of Lies by Michelle Diener
ISBN: 9781451684452
Trade Paperback
Published: October 22, 2013

Synopsis: 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.
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.

My review: I have to say that I really enjoyed reading this book. I think one thing I liked was that is grabbed me from the start and seemed to moved pretty quickly. To me the author did a good job with the character development. I like that the book had both mystery and romance in it as well as it is historical fiction all three things a hit in my book. Another part of the book that I liked was how Giselle is able to hide in plain sight to hide from those looking for her and solving the mystery of her father's murder. This was my first book by this author but I plan on looking for more by her after reading this. I encourage you to give this book a shot as you will not be disappointed. 

About the Author:
Michelle Diener writes historical fiction. Her Susanna Horenbout and John Parker series starts with IN A TREACHEROUS COURT. Set in the court of Henry VIII, it features the real historical figures of artist Susanna Horenbout and Henry's Keeper of the Palace of Westminster and Yeoman of the King's Robes, John Parker. It was followed by KEEPER OF THE KING'S SECRETS, also featuring Susanna Horenbout and John Parker, and DANGEROUS SANCTUARY, a short story with the same characters, set between the two books, is currently available as an ebook only.
A new historical novel, set during the Napoleonic Wars in London in 1811, THE EMPEROR'S CONSPIRACY, was released on November 27th, 2012.
Michelle also contributed a short paranormal story to the ENTANGLED Anthology entitled BREAKING OUT. All the proceeds of the sale of ENTANGLED go to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
Michelle grew up in South Africa, and now lives in Australia with her husband and two children. 
For more information, please visit Michelle's website.  You can also find her on Facebook and Twitter.



1 comment: