QUEEN OF DIAMONDS

Author: Barbara Metzger ISBN: 0451218671 6/2006 HISTORICAL Publisher: NAL/SIGNET
Time Period: 1816

There's not a soul for miles who doesn't know the story of the vanished Lady Charlotte Endicott and the handsome reward that will accompany her safe return. Scores of blond-haired, blueeyed impostors claiming to be the girl have tried their luck at Jack Endicott's casino, only to be turned away... Queenie Dennis, a diamond in the rough, just might be the famous Lottie. And fate takes a turn when she returns to the swirl of the beau monde under an assumed identity as a dressmaker fresh from France. Queenie quickly becomes the talk of the ton and catches the eye of the handsome Lord Harking, who has come to London in search of stolen family heirlooms. As Queenie's desire for him grows, her lies begin to catch up with her. Will Harking call her bluff, or will love hold the winning hand?

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Being the third installment in Barbara Metzger's House of Carde trilogy, QUEEN OF DIAMONDS was everything that I expected—and then some.

When her mother dies and leaves her all alone in the world, Queenie Dennis knows one thing—she has to flee to Paris and take up a trade, learn how to support herself so that she is never at the mercy of another human being. Now, three years later, Queenie is back in London causing quite the stir among the ton. There is talk that Queenie is the little heiress who was stolen from a carriage accident many years before. Scared for her very life and running out of options, Queenie does the smartest thing she can think of to do—she hides in plain sight. She dyes her hair black and takes on a new identity so that she may run her dressmaking shop in peace.

When the gorgeous Lord Harking takes a shine to Queenie, she is utterly dumbfounded. How in the world is she going to keep her identity a secret with him sniffing around? But, what she finds in Lord Harking is a man of strength and quiet calm, someone who can take control of a situation and lighten her burden a little bit. Here is a man who will not take no for an answer, and he doesn't stop until he has made Queenie understand how much she means to him.

What ensues is a wonderful story full of action, fun, and romantic moments that will have the reader hooked from page one. Is Queenie the long lost Lady Charlotte? No one knows that, including Queenie, but a series of events is set into motion that will give her the answers that she seeks, once and for all.

QUEEN OF DIAMONDS was a lovely ending to the House of Carde trilogy. All of the family was brought together in a nostalgic, bittersweet last chapter that brought tears to my eyes and left me supremely satisfied.

Kristal Gorman