When Miss Jane Ballenger unexpectedly inherits her brother’s worldly goods—the furniture, paintings and bric-a-brac on which he frittered away their entire family fortune—the only thing to do is catalog the lot of it and sell it off piece by piece. How else will she continue to support Twillins Cottage, the one place she feels safe? Born with a peculiar hearing problem, Jane has long kept to her … her isolated home in the woods, content with the company of a few close friends, and far removed from those who would brand her an idiot and consign her to life in an asylum. So when the devilishly charming private investigator, Sir Gabriel Arkwright, turns up on her doorstep to claim her new belongings in the name of the crown, she’ll do whatever it takes to protect her refuge, her loved-ones, and her well-guarded secret. Even if it means employing a bit of deception.
There are few things in life Sir Gabriel Arkwright enjoys more than a good mystery, especially when it’s a woman. Ever ready to take on an interesting puzzle, he’s determined to learn why the enigmatic Miss Ballenger has hidden herself away from the world. Before he can hope to ferret out the truth, however, Jane unearths national secrets hidden amongst her brother’s possessions. Now Gabriel must decide what’s more important, keeping state secrets out of the hands of a double agent, or protecting the woman who is quickly becoming more to him than just another mystery to solve…
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A Dangerous Deceit is a fantastic historical romance by Alissa Johnson. Ms. Johnson has provided readers with a well-written book. Kudos to Ms. Johnson on the outstanding characters in this story. Jane is busy trying to sort through her brother’s belongings that have been delivered to her after his death. Jane has a hearing problem and when speaking sometimes uses the wrong words. Gabriel is a private investigator working for the home office. Jane and Gabriel’s story is packed with drama, humor, sexy bits, action and suspense. I totally enjoyed every page of this book and look forward to reading more from Alissa Johnson in the future. A Dangerous Deceit is book 3 of The Thief-Takers Series but can be read as a standalone. This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.
Excellent. I was enthralled from the beginning. Suspenseful and romantic all while highlighting a problem of the past that people were forced to deal with.
A different kind of story filled with mental capacity issues. Not overly romantic or steamy, just enough to make the story enjoyable. Several funny lines that have the reader laughing out loud. Love the characters. Love the way the author handles certain situations of love, friendship, trust and deceit. Just a great story to read.
I really loved this book. It had such wonderful characters and a great story. I Loved the miscommunications and the way they were covered up. Definitely a book I would like to re-read. Best story I have read in a while.
One of the best things was that it was not full of explicit sex scenes etc. There was romance but nothing I would not share with my daughter!! Thanks for that!
Quick read, lovely characters
I enjoyed this read! I loved that the heroine has a learning disability. It makes her much more interesting.
This is my first time reading this author, and I found the story quite refreshing. The dialogue was witty, the characters were well-written, the suspense well-paced. Plus one of the attractions for me in this book was the fact that Jane, the heroine, had hearing issues. In the Victorian times any disability was treated as basically madness, and I was curious how this particular author would present it. I rather liked it.
Jane Bellanger is considered a hermit. She lives in a small cottage with two loyal servants. No one knows how much she yearns for more but not if her well guarded secret will come to light – that she has trouble hearing. So it’s best people think what they may. But when her oldest brother’s possessions appear on her doorstep, she does not know they bring danger and possibly love in their wake. I liked Jane a lot. She, despite her physical issue, never backed down and stood up for herself. When she saw a chance at happiness, she grabbed it with both hands. Her no nonsense attitude was what attracted her to Gabriel.
Sir Gabriel Arkwright is a PI or as they call him, a Thief Taker. He is charming, handsome and is well off since the job keeps him busy. When he receives a commission to go and find personal effects of a deceased spy, the last thing he expects is to find himself in a presence of a woman who befuddles him so much that he is unsure how to proceed. When dangerous men come to retrieve papers from Jane’s brother’s belongings, the true adventure starts. Through it all, Gabriel gets to know Jane to be courageous, loyal and utterly fascinating. The chemistry is subtle between them, it’s more intellectual attraction at first, as if both are trying to see what makes the other tick.
Both Gabriel and Jane are tormented by their past. Both have fears that they keep close to chest. I liked how Gabriel slowly became aware of her as not just someone under his protection, but a lovely woman that he can see himself with. They both had to take a chance when confessing their past lives fearing possible ridicule or disdain but their mutual past pain and present attraction spiced with a hint of danger made their feelings develop faster and stronger than if it was a regular courtship. Nothing says romantic like a hunk of cheese, straw bed and riding gallop in the dead of night! But Jane was so starved for life that despite the awful circumstances she bloomed. I loved those two. I loved how Gabriel didn’t even blink an eye about her hearing problem, how he made her part of his friend’s lives. Plus the spies! Who can say no to that! Even though it’s the last in the series, it can easily be read as standalone! I really liked it and recommend it!
For me, the mystery and suspense of this novel was compelling. The romance part not so much. I was never drawn into the romance.
I have not been able to read thru this entire book as I can’t get it on audio, and can’t read due to to chronic migraine but love the premise and have read some of the book (just haven’t been able to finish & hoping for audio verision)
It was a beautiful story of two persons hiding who they really are.
Jane suffered a lot from the garbled opinion other people have from her, so she now prefers to hide than be bullied and be called name because of her deficiency. Ill treatments and years in an asylum taught her to avoid crowds and too long conversations. She appears blunt and harsh but she feels safe this way.
Gabriel presents to the world a different man depending of the situation, he might not have liked being compared to a reptile but he is a chameleon, he wears his skin like a disguise. Why Jane unsettles him, he pains to get a full picture of her, she is rather unpredictable so he does not know which role to play with her.
I’m not a great fan of spies stories but here it was yes a spy tale but also an incredible road trip during which they learned about themselves and another.
Even if I was hurrying Jane to confess Gabriel her secret to Gabriel, I do understood she needed time to trust, and winning her confidence is not a few minutes task. The span of time was rather short so it was comprehensible they tasted their faith in each other and did not gave it easily.
I love how the author brings the characters together, how they get to know another, there are very few angsty moments and no real miscommunications, it was more about misinterpretations and lack of knowledge but they were not afraid to talk and sort out their differences.
This story is a Victorian era James Bond adventure. Sounds boring huh? Well it’s everything but boring. Enter the heroine Jane, who’s simply satisfied to stay at her little cottage called Twillins. A recluse who bothers no one and no one bothers her. Her only companions are an older couple who have taken her in at the behest of her brother. To anyone else she seems strange and a little “off” because of a hearing affliction she’s ashamed of and no one understands. So she guards it as her secret and keeps to herself. Enter our hero Gabriel (James Bond character) who manages to turn her quiet and safe world upside down with his cloak and dagger life. This is an action story full of danger and perils at every turn, and of course a little romance. I enjoyed it very much. Thanks Alissa!
Very good book.
It was interesting to read about the heroine’s affliction. The remainder of the plot is predictable and silly at times.
This is a new to me author and I really liked her style and story of Jane and Gabriel. It was a different story line that I’ve never seen before. I’ll surely be adding her to my list of authors to read!
Each character has secrets which could shatter any relationship. The author deals with these obstacles with respect. A memorable read.
Very quirky and fun to read
unique story
My first, but surely not my last, read by this author. A romance with travels by train and horse as the h and H attempt to outsmart the villains, while not really knowing what they’re up against.
Wish there were more.