Thoroughly enjoyed this book. great descriptions and enjoyable plot and characters! I've not read this author before but will do so again in the future!

I found this book to be confusing, so could not get invested in the characters, as there were so many mistaken identities and aliases used. Maybe if each character had kept their own name I would have had an easier time keeping the characters and plot straight.

I really liked the balance between the French and English settings and sensibilities of the novel.


This had an epic family saga that hinted at DuMaurier, Downton and even a bit of Colleen McCullough.

While I appreciated the author's obvious passion for the story and the whiffs of romance, not to mention the authentic intrigue, I had trouble adapting to the world and the characters.

That being said, I will try another book by this author happily sometime.

I tried, but really did not love this book. It seemed to have the basis and all the right ingredients for a great novel, (believable characters, plot scheming, a murder, a family secret concerning a tryst, hints at romance)...but there really wasn't any attention grabbing climax. I kept waiting for some romance or something more exciting to happen, but it just wasn't there. No exploded moments--just a lot of background information which would have made a great foundation for an overlying plot. I am sorry to say that this book overall only held my attention for the action that I anticipated. I was actually pretty bored. Disappointing really. (Equestrian folks may like it better than I did, however.)

Every character has a series of names and monikers which are used interchangeably, there are far too many cases of double and mistaken identity (even the horses have twins), undercover international spies, and shifting allegiances for me to keep track of. The basic story here is about good sister Alix standing in as her evil sister Lily. As Alix then flees from nefarious villains and battles the elements with only her wits and her trusty pets (Snap the terrier and Midnight the stallion) about her, her uncle Quenton and his entourage drink whiskey, smoke cigars and travel in luxury while discussing whiskey and cigars under the guise of rescuing Alix and Midnight.

Lots of missing prepositions had me wondering whether this were a translation, but I gathered it's the way people talked in whatever year this is meant to be set in. Author Diane Shute identifies herself as being from Saline, CA along with Alfred Hitchcock, that and a reference to Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors in this story's beginning might account for her penchant for over-machination.