City of Scoundrels by Victoria Thompson

City of Scoundrels by Victoria Thompson ISBN-13: 9781984805652 Hardcover: 320 pages Publisher: Berkley Released: November 5th 2019

Source: Review copy from the publisher.

Book Description from Goodreads:
Elizabeth Miles finds herself in a position no con can help her escape. Her beloved fiancé, Gideon Bates, is awaiting his turn in the draft to fight in the Great War. Elizabeth is finding it hard to think of anything else, but Gideon has thrown himself into his work, preparing wills for soldiers before they ship out. Corporal Tom Preston is part owner of Preston Shoes, a company that is making footwear for the army, so he has a rather large estate. He needs a new will, however, because he has just been secretly married to a woman whom his family would never approve. He wants to make sure she and their unborn child are provided for if he does not return.

When Tom is later reported killed, Elizabeth and Gideon learn that the new will has gone missing after Tom's bride revealed her identity to his family. Unless the new will is found and validated, the original will, which leaves everything to Tom's brother, will prevail and the wife and child will get nothing. If Tom's new bride survives, that is. Some terrible threats have been leveled against her, and Elizabeth and Gideon must figure out a way, legal or not quite, to secure Tom's fortune for his wife and child while saving her life in the process.


My Review:
City of Scoundrels is a historical suspense set in October/November 1918 in New York City. This is the third book in the series. You don't need to read the previous books to understand this one, and this book didn't spoil the previous novels.

Elizabeth is a reformed con artist engaged to marry an honorable lawyer who refuses to lie. He's also honorably willing to be drafted and go to war, which terrifies Elizabeth. The 1918 Flu epidemic hit right as they're pulling their con, adding more suspense to the uncertainties involved in pulling off two complex cons. Her family sure enjoys conning rich, evil people and are starting to see the point of doing it to help women left poor through injustice. It was entertaining to guess just how the con was going to be pulled off. The historical details were woven into the story to create a sense of the specific time and place as well as bring the story alive.

There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd highly recommend this entertaining historical novel.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


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