City of Fortune
-
-
5.0 • 1 Rating
-
-
- $9.99
Publisher Description
When a day at the races reveals sabotage and subterfuge, Elizabeth Miles must use every ounce of her craftiness to even the score in this all-new Counterfeit Lady novel from USA Today bestselling author Victoria Thompson.
Wealthy but uncouth Sebastian Nolan has invited his lawyer, Gideon Bates, and his lovely new wife, Elizabeth, to attend the famous Belmont Stakes. Nolan is anxious for Gideon and Elizabeth to help his daughter, Irene, acquire a bit of polish, now that his venture into thoroughbred racing has allowed them entry into society. He is also hoping to find her a rich potential suitor. Elizabeth is not exactly the society girl Nolan believes her to be, but she is eager to attend the races. Her con artist family has made a lot of money at racetracks, although not from betting on the horses, and she enjoys the excitement of the track.
Irene Nolan seems more interested in horses than husbands, and she jumps at the chance to show Elizabeth her horse, Trench, and introduce her to his rider, Cal Regan. Elizabeth soon realizes there is more than just a working relationship between Irene and Cal. But she also knows that Irene’s father would never allow his only daughter to marry a jockey. When Cal takes a terrible tumble injuring both himself and Irene’s beloved Trench, Elizabeth and Gideon learn that the mishap was not simply bad luck—the horse and rider are victims of sabotage.
It turns out that Sebastian Nolan has more than a few skeletons in his closet and someone is out to get their long sought-after revenge. Elizabeth knows that to help Irene and Cal, she is going to need some help in creating the quintessential con. With the ever honest Gideon at her side, she enlists those closest to her to come up with a scheme that will either ensure young Irene and Cal a first-place finish or have disastrous consequence. . . .
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Set in 1919, Thompson's entertaining sixth Counterfeit Lady mystery (after 2021's City of Shadows) opens with New York City lawyer Gideon Bates agreeing to attend a horse race at Belmont Park at the invitation of a client, Sebastian Nolan, the owner of a small racing stable. Nolan wants Gideon to bring his wife, Elizabeth, and his upper-crust mother to help put some polish on his motherless grown daughter, Irene, who's more interested in horse racing than society. The race turns to tragedy when Nolan's prize horse, Trench, stumbles and the jockey, Cal Regan, is seriously injured in what appears to have been no accident. It turns out Trench was secretly "sponged" so he would falter. Elizabeth takes an interest in the respective fates of Cal and Irene, with whom she becomes friends, and to right a series of wrongs, she helps set up an elaborate con game. The con revolves around a mysterious woman who has come to New York and as a supposed rich Spanish widow steals the show at a series of fancy dinner parties. The light and humorous plot is matched by descriptions of a glamorous city that seems more Gilded Age than post-WWI. This entry should win Thompson new fans.
