My Fair Frauds

Kelly and Thorne follow up Starlets with another tale of intrigue and subterfuge, this one set in 1883. Thirteen years ago, Alice Archer’s father was duped into an investment opportunity that wiped out his finances and left the family destitute. To exact revenge on the five scions of New York City’s upper crust responsible for his ruin, Alice, now 28, hatches a clever plan to upend their lives by getting them to invest in phony emerald mines. Posing as Grand Duchess Marie Charlotte Gabriella of Württemberg, she engages coconspirator Ward McAllister to introduce her to Manhattan society. She also recruits a German woman named Dagmar to be her cook and a sweet lady named Béatrice to serve as her maid. By happenstance, Alice meets Coraline O’Malley, aka “Cora Mack,” an accomplished pickpocket and crew member of a traveling magic act. In Pygmalion fashion, Alice transforms Cora Mack from a street-smart country girl into a refined lady who will play her cousin in the scheme and snare one of the younger scions. Readers will trip on a few anachronisms—Victorians didn’t tell each other to “stay in your lane”—but the authors pack the suspenseful plot with entertaining twists. There’s plenty to enjoy in this fast-paced romp. (Dec.)