ARC Review: City of Lies by Victoria Thompson

City of Lies
Author: Victoria Thompson
Series: A Counterfeit Lady Novel (Book 1)
Publication: Berkley (November 7, 2017)

Description: Every woman plays a part—but some are more dangerous than others…

Like most women, Elizabeth Miles assumes many roles; unlike most, hers have made her a woman on the run. Living on the edge of society, Elizabeth uses her guile to relieve so-called respectable men of their ill-gotten gains. But brutal and greedy entrepreneur Oscar Thornton is out for blood. He’s lost a great deal of money and is not going to forgive a woman for outwitting him. With his thugs hot on her trail, Elizabeth seizes the moment to blend in with a group of women who have an agenda of their own.

She never expects to like or understand these privileged women, but she soon comes to respect their intentions, forming an unlikely bond with the wealthy matriarch of the group whose son, Gideon, is the rarest of species—an honest man in a dishonest world. Elizabeth knows she’s playing a risky game, and her deception could be revealed at any moment, possibly even by sharp-eyed Gideon. Nor has she been forgotten by Thornton, who’s biding his time, waiting to strike. Elizabeth must draw on her wits and every last ounce of courage she possesses to keep her new life from being cut short by this vicious shadow from her past.

My Thoughts: Lizzy Miles is a grifter. She and her brother run a number of cons. However, their latest con goes wrong and Oscar Thornton is now and the hunt for Lizzy. He wants his money back or Lizzy dead. Lizzy runs into a protest by suffragists who are picketing in front of the White House.

Lizzy finds herself arrested and taken to a workhouse. She meets a number of upper class women and makes friends as they go through the horrors of the workhouse. She becomes especially close to Mrs. Bates and Anna Vanderslice. While they are undergoing horrors inside the workhouse, Mrs. Bate's son Gideon and Anna's brother David are trying to get them out. They are assisted by Oscar Thornton who wants Lizzy and who wants David to broker a deal with the Army to let him sell some questionable weapons.

Once out of jail, Lizzy is taken home by Mrs. Bates and Anna. However, Lizzy is kidnapped by Thornton and the only way she can get herself free is to plan another con. She has to convince Thornton that she has enough influence with David to get him to broker Thornton's deal. She finds herself engaged to David while falling in love with Gideon and running the biggest con of her life.

This was a great historical thriller. I liked Lizzy and I liked the historical detail about the woman's suffrage movement. It was fun trying to keep track of who knew what and what story Lizzy was going to try next.

Favorite Quote:

Were there really hundreds of different types of birds in the world? Until today, Elizabeth had had no idea. And who in heaven's name would take the trouble to catch, kill, stuff, mount and label every single one of them? And put them in a museum? It was almost as big a mystery as why anyone in their right mind would make a trip to a museum to see them all.

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from Edelweiss. You can buy your copy here.