{"id":31328,"date":"2024-07-09T11:09:21","date_gmt":"2024-07-09T15:09:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/?p=31328"},"modified":"2024-07-09T11:10:10","modified_gmt":"2024-07-09T15:10:10","slug":"review-a-ruse-of-shadows-by-sherry-thomas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2024\/07\/09\/review-a-ruse-of-shadows-by-sherry-thomas\/","title":{"rendered":"Review \ud83d\udd0d A Ruse of Shadows by Sherry Thomas"},"content":{"rendered":"<!--themify_builder_content-->\n<div id=\"themify_builder_content-31328\" data-postid=\"31328\" class=\"themify_builder_content themify_builder_content-31328 themify_builder tf_clear\">\n    \t\t\t<!-- module_row -->\n\t<div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_row themify_builder_row tb_oks8877 tb_first tf_w tf_clearfix\">\n\t    \t\t\t<div class=\"row_inner col_align_top gutter-narrow tb_col_count_2 tf_box tf_rel\">\n\t\t            <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column tb-column col3-1 tb_2v4u877 first\">\n                                                        <div class=\"tb-column-inner tf_box tf_w\">\n                        <!-- module image -->\n<div  class=\"module module-image tb_dsjb877 rounded drop-shadow customBorderRad_top image-center auto_fullwidth tf_mw\" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div class=\"image-wrap tf_rel tf_mw\">\n\t\t    <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"750\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/a-ruse-of-shadows-sherry-thomas-e1720446650875.jpg?resize=500%2C750&#038;ssl=1\" class=\"wp-post-image wp-image-31327\" title=\"a-ruse-of-shadows-sherry-thomas\" alt=\"a-ruse-of-shadows-sherry-thomas\">\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<!-- \/image-wrap -->\n    \n    \t<\/div>\n<!-- \/module image --><!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_wa73877 customBorderRad_bottom repeat \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">Charlotte\u2019s success on the RMS\u00a0<span class=\"a-text-italic\">Provence\u00a0<\/span>has afforded her a certain measure of time and assurance. Taking advantage of that, she has been busy, plotting to prise the man her sister loves from Moriarty\u2019s iron grip.<\/span><br \/><br \/><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">Disruption, however, comes from an unexpected quarter. Lord Bancroft Ashburton, disgraced and imprisoned as a result of Charlotte\u2019s prior investigations, nevertheless manages to press Charlotte into service: Underwood, his most loyal henchman, is missing and Lord Bancroft wants Charlotte to find Underwood, dead or alive.<\/span><br \/><br \/><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">But then Lord Bancroft himself turns up dead and Charlotte, more than anyone else, meets the trifecta criteria of motive, means, and opportunity. Never mind rescuing anyone else, with the law breathing down her neck, can Charlotte save herself from prosecution for murder?<\/span><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text -->                    <\/div>\n                            <\/div>\n                        <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column tb-column col3-2 tb_rx7x877 last\">\n                                                        <div class=\"tb-column-inner tf_box tf_w\">\n                        <!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_d41l877  repeat \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-25879 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/smitten-top-pick-banner-1-2.png?resize=296%2C72&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"296\" height=\"72\" \/><\/p><hr \/><p><strong>Release Date:<\/strong> Jun 25, 2024<br \/><strong>Series:<\/strong>\u00a0<em>Lady Sherlock<br \/><\/em><strong>Book:\u00a0<\/strong>8<br \/><strong>Heat Level:<\/strong> Sensual<br \/><strong>Publisher:<\/strong>\u00a0Penguin Group<br \/><strong>Imprint:<\/strong>\u00a0Berkley\u00a0<br \/><strong>Price:<\/strong> $12.99<\/p><hr \/><p>\u00a0<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em><strong>The eight story in the Lady Sherlock series and it\u2019s probably one of my favorites.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Let me be very clear, this is not a standalone. I think in the past, I\u2019ve vaguely hinted in my reviews of this series that you could hop into the mystery, but it\u2019s official with book eight that you can\u2019t just read this and know what\u2019s going on. In fact, if you were to read this before the others, I believe you would be disappointed and confused.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">It\u2019s also hard for me as a reader to believe that the events from the first book are only a year from the events of this book. The timeline in this series is so compact, where the time between books is so lengthy that I may make 2025 the year I re-read. But I digress.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This book made me smile; it made my eyebrows furrow and my stomach clench, and I won\u2019t lie. I\u2019m so invested in<strong> Charlotte Holmes<\/strong>, <strong>Mrs. Watson<\/strong>, <strong>Livia Holmes<\/strong>, and Charlotte\u2019s lover, <strong>Ash<\/strong>. All the characters have my eager support. I want them to succeed, and at times during this story, I wasn\u2019t sure they would. There were twists and turns, but Thomas again does a great job of Charlotte as our dubious narrator. She\u2019s the master of the puppets, and the rest of us are just playing out her story.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">What is the story? Charlotte is accused of murder, and not just any, but one of an old enemy, Lord Bancroft. Fancily enough, our dear Charlotte solves not one, not two, but three crimes during this book, and what\u2019s even better is how nothing is a coincidence, and everything ties back to each other. This is another reason to read the previous books, as there are hints and clues that help pave the way, and if you\u2019ve got a photographic memory like Charlotte, you\u2019ll be able to put everything together.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>P.S.<\/strong> For us fans of <strong>Sherry Thomas<\/strong> in her historical romance days, this book doesn\u2019t disappoint and also gave me enough to make that romance-loving part of me so very happy. Don\u2019t walk; run to the bookstore. Grab your copy. Settle in for a lovely read. Now, I need book nine.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>~ Landra<\/em><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text --><!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_i82r877 customBorderRad repeat \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span class=\"s1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/4cyO9lJ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Amazon<\/a><\/span><span class=\"s2\">\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/apple.co\/3xXnTSM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">iBooks<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/a-ruse-of-shadows-sherry-thomas\/1144121778?ean=9780593640449\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">B&amp;N<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kobo.com\/us\/en\/ebook\/a-ruse-of-shadows\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">Kobo<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/books\/details\/Sherry_Thomas_A_Ruse_of_Shadows?id=OQTZEAAAQBAJ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">Google Play<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text -->                    <\/div>\n                            <\/div>\n            \t    <\/div>\n\t    <!-- \/row_inner -->\n\t<\/div>\n\t<!-- \/module_row -->\n\t<\/div>\n<!--\/themify_builder_content-->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Charlotte\u2019s success on the RMS\u00a0Provence\u00a0has afforded her a certain measure of time and assurance. Taking advantage of that, she has been busy, plotting to prise [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31327,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[83,112,128,48],"tags":[153,540,367,404,405,485,502],"class_list":["post-31328","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-berkley","category-landra","category-penguin-group","category-reviews","tag-4-5-stars","tag-cozy-historical","tag-mystery","tag-recommend","tag-recommended-reads","tag-top-picks","tag-victorian-mystery"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Review \ud83d\udd0d A Ruse of Shadows by Sherry Thomas - Smitten by Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2024\/07\/09\/review-a-ruse-of-shadows-by-sherry-thomas\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Review \ud83d\udd0d A Ruse of Shadows by Sherry Thomas - Smitten by Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Charlotte\u2019s success on the RMS\u00a0Provence\u00a0has afforded her a certain measure of time and assurance. 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Taking advantage of that, she has been busy, plotting to prise the man her sister loves from Moriarty\u2019s iron grip.<br \/><br \/>Disruption, however, comes from an unexpected quarter. Lord Bancroft Ashburton, disgraced and imprisoned as a result of Charlotte\u2019s prior investigations, nevertheless manages to press Charlotte into service: Underwood, his most loyal henchman, is missing and Lord Bancroft wants Charlotte to find Underwood, dead or alive.<br \/><br \/>But then Lord Bancroft himself turns up dead and Charlotte, more than anyone else, meets the trifecta criteria of motive, means, and opportunity. Never mind rescuing anyone else, with the law breathing down her neck, can Charlotte save herself from prosecution for murder?<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/smitten-top-pick-banner-1-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"296\" height=\"72\" \/><\/p><hr \/><p><strong>Release Date:<\/strong> Jun 25, 2024<br \/><strong>Series:<\/strong>\u00a0<em>Lady Sherlock<br \/><\/em><strong>Book:\u00a0<\/strong>8<br \/><strong>Heat Level:<\/strong> Sensual<br \/><strong>Publisher:<\/strong>\u00a0Penguin Group<br \/><strong>Imprint:<\/strong>\u00a0Berkley\u00a0<br \/><strong>Price:<\/strong> $12.99<\/p><hr \/><p>\u00a0<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em><strong>The eight story in the Lady Sherlock series and it\u2019s probably one of my favorites.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Let me be very clear, this is not a standalone. I think in the past, I\u2019ve vaguely hinted in my reviews of this series that you could hop into the mystery, but it\u2019s official with book eight that you can\u2019t just read this and know what\u2019s going on. In fact, if you were to read this before the others, I believe you would be disappointed and confused.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">It\u2019s also hard for me as a reader to believe that the events from the first book are only a year from the events of this book. The timeline in this series is so compact, where the time between books is so lengthy that I may make 2025 the year I re-read. But I digress.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This book made me smile; it made my eyebrows furrow and my stomach clench, and I won\u2019t lie. I\u2019m so invested in<strong> Charlotte Holmes<\/strong>, <strong>Mrs. Watson<\/strong>, <strong>Livia Holmes<\/strong>, and Charlotte\u2019s lover, <strong>Ash<\/strong>. All the characters have my eager support. I want them to succeed, and at times during this story, I wasn\u2019t sure they would. There were twists and turns, but Thomas again does a great job of Charlotte as our dubious narrator. She\u2019s the master of the puppets, and the rest of us are just playing out her story.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">What is the story? Charlotte is accused of murder, and not just any, but one of an old enemy, Lord Bancroft. Fancily enough, our dear Charlotte solves not one, not two, but three crimes during this book, and what\u2019s even better is how nothing is a coincidence, and everything ties back to each other. This is another reason to read the previous books, as there are hints and clues that help pave the way, and if you\u2019ve got a photographic memory like Charlotte, you\u2019ll be able to put everything together.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>P.S.<\/strong> For us fans of <strong>Sherry Thomas<\/strong> in her historical romance days, this book doesn\u2019t disappoint and also gave me enough to make that romance-loving part of me so very happy. Don\u2019t walk; run to the bookstore. Grab your copy. Settle in for a lovely read. Now, I need book nine.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>~ Landra<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/4cyO9lJ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Amazon<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/apple.co\/3xXnTSM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">iBooks<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/a-ruse-of-shadows-sherry-thomas\/1144121778?ean=9780593640449\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">B&amp;N<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kobo.com\/us\/en\/ebook\/a-ruse-of-shadows\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kobo<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/books\/details\/Sherry_Thomas_A_Ruse_of_Shadows?id=OQTZEAAAQBAJ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google Play<\/a><\/strong><\/p>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31328","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31328"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31328\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31335,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31328\/revisions\/31335"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31328"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}