A Ring of Truth is the next exciting installment of the Henrietta and Inspector Howard series, in which Clive reveals that he is actually the heir of the Howard estate and fortune, Henrietta discovers she may not be who she thought she was-and both must decide if they are really meant for each other.
A Ring of Truth
By michellecox
Loved it
Like history
I was enjoying this book, but then it ended! No finishing of any story lines! I hate this, I’m not buying the next book.
I liked this book so much I immediately read the next in the series. I read both of them in less than two days.
Unique story line. Well written.
Because this series by Michelle Cox is called “Henrietta and Inspector Howard”, I’ll admit I was expecting something a bit different. More of a cosy mystery, where the mystery had a central role, if in a ‘cosy’ way.
Turned out, this is a romance with a mystery side thread, which was disappointing for me – which is entirely me, not a fault of the story.
Even if I’m not at all into romances, this was nonetheless a good one. The characters are well rounded and sympathetic and don’t normally go into the kind of unreasonable angst that I really don’t like in romances. Henrietta and Clive have some very serious matters to consider and overcome and they do it always in a credible way.
Yes, they are classic romance tropes (she’s young, daring and poor, he’s experienced, brooding and very rich), but they are handled in such a way that they feels real and convincing. I also liked that many threads are interwoven in the story. Henrietta and Clive’s love story is central to the plot, but there are side threads (the mystery one, but also the thread concerning Henrietta’s mother, and the one about her brother, the thread concerning Helen’s past) that are strongly set. Most of these side threads don’t find a resolution at the end (this is, indeed, and ongoing series) but they weave with the central story rather than proceed alongside, so that they feel part of it. I was not disappointed when they remained opened in the end, it actually felt quite natural.
The mystery thread turned out to be quite lame, I’m afraid, which was disappointing for me. But the romance is very strong, so if you are the kind of the romance reader, I’m sure you’ll appreciate this story a lot.
This book was set in the 1920s, but I’m not sure what genre I’d pace it in. The plot was uneven, moving between Clive Howard’s job as a police detective and Clive’s engagement to Henrietta. The author took side trips into Clive’s parents Antonia Howard’s snobbishness and class prejudices and glossed over Mr. Howard’s ineffectiveness. Add to the mix Henrietta’s inappropriate friendliness with the servants, and you have a churning mess. Worst of all was the strange relationship between Clive and Henrietta – one of distrust and angst alternating with sloppy declarations and passion. I would not recommend this book.
Very descriptive with good characters but hate that it is an “installment.”
Good story but a little too much repetition in the details.
Kinda boring, set too far in past for my tastes
I gave it sixty pages before giving up on it. Just didn’t move well.
It was well written and very interesting period time piece. I just wish e-books came with ratings like movies. I’m so tired of reading a good book and coming across what I consider (I hope most would) curse words. Really? The book goes for chapters with no hint that there will be anything like this. It has you captured in the story and plot, then boom- there’s filth I don’t want to be putting in my mind. That’s the reason for the low stars. The plot, writing, everything else was great! The bad language was not necessary.
Well written with several things going on at once. The only thing I didn’t like was the open ending to the story which was meant to lead you to the next book.
Predictable, but enjoyable chracters and ambiance.
It was one of a series and left you hanging and pushing for you to buy the whole series. It was good other than that.
Couple of twists; but love conquered all–poor girl marries the rich man.
Read the first book in the series first!
This is a story about two people from different upbringings. They are going to get married and need to still sort out their feelings for each other and figure out how each will deal with the other’s families. This is book two of a series. The first book pairs the two as a Chicago police detective in the 1950’s and the girl who helps him solve a case. Book two is described above. I can see why the author wrote book two concentrating only on the couple’s relationship. There is a twist at the end that is okay, but convenient. My issue is—I grew up in the place the author describes and she must have used A LOT of imagination, which she is allowed to do of course, but people didn’t live or act that way. I give the book a three out of five.
I have read the first three books. Much of it was tiresome self examination, should I do this or that, am I good or bad, do they like me or not like me. There is very little of any of the books that actually deal with mystery cases of the Inspector, so it’s misleading to suggest this is a crime investigation series. I don’t think I’d recommend anyone invest the time in this series if you don’t like pages and pages of angst.
decent read with well developed characters. Enjoyed it probably 3 1/2 stars….
The characters were formed and dropped. It bounced around. Seems like it was not finished…