The Cloverton Charade

In the third Houses of Yorkshire Regency romance, Ladd (In the Shelter of Hollythorne House) serves up a riveting mystery centered on two antique brokers who are thrust back into each other’s lives years after a family feud forced them apart. When Olivia Brannon is recruited to evaluate a widow’s private collection at a London mansion, she jumps at the chance. Mrs. Milton is eager to keep Olivia’s work secret from her nephew George, the new owner of Cloverton Hall, and has Olivia pose as her guest at a party. Working-class Olivia feels like a fish out of water among the fashionable set, and things get stranger still when she runs into Lucas Avery, whose father was once a business associate of her own father’s before the two had a falling-out. Lucas is at Cloverton to evaluate George’s own collection of antiques, and is horrified to discover counterfeits among them. He reluctantly seeks out Olivia’s expertise, and sparks fly as the pair—who are driven by a shared belief in doing what’s right­—work to uncover who might be switching out George’s antiques. Ladd seamlessly weaves in details about the feud between the Brannons and the Averys as the narrative surges forward, adding depth and intrigue to Olivia and Lucas’s budding relationship. It’s a pitch-perfect blend of suspense and sweetness. (Sept.)