Vienna Waltz by Tracy Grant
“I've learned to choose my allies carefully and believe in them once I've made my choice.”
The setting: Congress of Vienna, on the cusp of a world at war. Tracy Grant masterfully evokes all the trappings of an era gone by...velvet cloaks, satin slippers, elegant ball gowns, men in boots, dazzling uniforms, immaculate linens, maids, valets, liveried footmen, champagne and strawberries, grand mansions and candlelit chateaus. It was also a world where nothing was as it seemed - where honor and betrayal teetered side by side, marriage vows seemed meant to be broken, scandalous love affairs were common, and subterfuge prevalent. The writing is lovely. Nuanced, layered, and intricately plotted, it is simply elegant and a delight to read. The words form pictures and you feel you are just offsite watching the action. The plot is suspenseful, but not uncomfortably so. I found this a hard book to put down, yet I wanted to linger as long as I could. Malcolm and Suzanne - what a couple. As alliances go, their marriage was an unpredictable one - forced by circumstances, forged amidst espionage, intrigue, and murder, and cloaked entirely by mystery. It is the mystery of their relationship that riveted my attention. The tension between them is electric, the secrets gradually revealed, breathtaking in their scope.
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