Dangerous Lover
(Crime and Passion Book #3)
by Mary Lancaster
GENRE: #HistoricalMysteryRomance #VictorianEra #SuspenseRomance📍 Setting: Victorian London | ⏳ Era: 1852 (19th Century)
My rating: ★★★★★
5 FULL STARS 😃✨
Another truly enjoyable read by Mary Lancaster!! Five full stars, well-deserved for this Victorian mystery and clean romance, where both themes are beautifully developed and the story's focus remains equally strong throughout.
The added bonus is the additional, yet equally engaging, subplot mysteries involving both the main characters and the supporting cast.
Before sharing my deeper thoughts, let's take a look at:
📜 The GENERAL PLOT:
Alexandra Battle is all alone in the world and desperately needs employment. She accepts a new position as a governess to Sir Nicholas Swan's illegitimate daughter, without ever having met him or the child before.
Evelina, a six-year-old motherless girl, proves to be both delightful and challenging due to her sudden outbursts of tantrums. Meanwhile, Nicholas, her frequently absent father, remains a hauntingly fascinating mystery.
Why does a wealthy baronet of noble birth choose to live in a dusty old house in an unfashionable, neglected part of London? What dangerous secrets echo through the hallways at night? And who is the dying woman he mysteriously brought back with him from Italy?
As the mysteries pile up, Evelina suddenly disappears. Dangerous secrets threaten to shatter their world, while Alexandra's feelings for her distraught employer grow despite her steadfast reason.
Thankfully, Lady Grizelda and her husband, Dr. Dragan Tizsa—who never leave a mystery unsolved—are ready to step in and help their friend.
🎩😊 ** MY THOUGHTS ** 🎩
The book opens by introducing our female protagonist, who is just embarking on her new job as a governess to a six-year-old girl. Interestingly, the noble estate is located far outside the usual wealthy, high-society neighborhoods. This is the very first strange element of the story, hinting that the house and its inhabitants are sheltering deep secrets.
An air of mystery, which instantly sparks both the reader's and the protagonist's curiosity, begins from the very first chapters and persists until the end. It created that perfect level of tension that every good mystery should arouse, driving me to read one chapter after another, eager to solve the various riddles hidden within the plot.
But to truly enjoy a story, regardless of the genre, I need one fundamental element: to genuinely connect with the protagonists and understand their innermost feelings. It is even better when I can share those emotions and identify with the hopes and anxieties of those experiencing them.
Fortunately, as with all of Mary Lancaster's books, I immediately became deeply attached to the main couple:
| 👒🎩 TWO MAIN CHARACTERS WITH WHOM IT'S EASY TO EMPATHIZE
- ALEXANDRA: I truly liked her because she is a genuinely positive person without any forced exaggeration. I found her very realistic and incredibly easy for readers to identify with.
Right from the start, Alexandra feels an undeniable attraction to her employer, just as any of us might develop a sudden crush on someone without even knowing them well.
The emotional torment that tears her apart—knowing she cannot easily act on her feelings due to their professional employer-employee relationship and, even more so, the rigid social divisions of the Victorian era—is absolutely plausible and instantly wins the reader's sympathy.
Despite her growing doubts and suspicions, she always strives not to make hasty judgments (even when they inevitably surface, throwing her into deeper confusion). Her unyielding kindness toward the little girl, despite her tantrums, showcases her maturity in facing life's hardships, as well as her sweetness and inherent desire to be loved and accepted.
I thoroughly enjoyed watching how she managed her emotions and how, at the perfect moment, she allowed them to blossom into a passion she had long repressed. - NICHOLAS: I found him to be a wonderful character. Despite his immense charm and the fact that high-society women are ready to throw themselves into his arms, he is a deeply loving, protective father.
He has faced the mistakes of his youth, taken full responsibility for them, and refuses to take advantage of his beautiful governess—even after realizing she is far from indifferent to him.
The inevitable stolen kiss that occurs at a certain point makes everything even more complicated and incredibly gripping.
His open disdain for superficial social divisions and his genuine sensitivity toward the less fortunate make him beautifully human—the exact kind of hero I love most in historical novels.
I won't deny that the author shrouded him in mystery so skillfully that, for a few moments, I actually feared our good guy might turn out to be a villain!
Only the comforting knowledge that he was the true male protagonist gave me the reassurance that everything would eventually be cleared up just the way I wanted.
After all, the ultimate beauty of this kind of book is A GUARANTEED HAPPY ENDING!!
| 💖 THE ROMANTIC SIDE OF THE BOOK:
As I mentioned at the beginning, this is a "clean romance," meaning there are no steamy, explicit scenes. This choice might disappoint many readers who prefer high-spice novels, and they might discard the book from their wish-list because of it (and rightly so; I certainly don't want to give you any false illusions!).
However, for those who love a good mystery with a heartwarming touch of romance, you will be happy to know that thoughts of physical attraction, the slow burn of falling in love, tender touches, and sweet kisses—along with a final love scene behind closed doors—go perfectly hand in hand with the suspicions and investigations.
| 🔎 THE MYSTERY & INVESTIGATION SIDE:
With multiple kidnappings, strange noises echoing from the basement, a noble family estate hidden away in a disreputable neighborhood, clandestine pseudo-revolutionary pamphlets, a famous father who vanished into thin air, and mysterious women from the past whose identities remain hidden... the plot weaves multiple layers of intrigue into a fantastic web.
It is a web that only the brilliant amateur investigators of the "Crime & Passion" series can truly unravel. They achieve this thanks to their sharp wits, their unique network of acquaintances spanning from high-society drawing rooms to the most unusual and sketchy alleys of the city, and above all, thanks to their sheer audacity (and perhaps a touch of reckless adventure!).
Of course, I am talking about Griz and Dragan, the wonderful protagonist couple from the first book, who return to grace the pages as delightful co-protagonists in both the second and this third installment.
While the narrative doesn't heavily rely on dense or dry historical data, if you love a cozy, Victorian-style whodunit that perfectly captures the imagery of London as a foggy, atmospheric city—gloomy in the evenings and intriguingly dangerous through its dark, shadowy alleys—all while keeping the suspense beautifully engaging without crossing into dark horror or anguish, then you should definitely give this brilliant book a chance!
| 📖 SUITABLE FOR: Everyone!
The language is completely clean, and there are no gory murders or explicit sex scenes, making it a perfect, delightful read that even younger historical fiction fans can fully enjoy.
Thank you so much for reading my thoughts! I truly hope my review helps you choose your next favorite historical reading journey. 🙂
Be sure to follow my cozy corner to stay tuned for more Victorian historical adventures!
BACK TO THE BEGINNING | READ THE PREVIOUS BOOKS IN THE SERIES:
👉 BOOK #1: "Mysterious Lover" by Mary Lancaster — Click here to read my full review!
👉 BOOK #2: "Letters to a Lover" by Mary Lancaster — Click here to read my full review!
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