This is a historical romance with some mystery thrown into the mix. Minerva Hepplewhite's discovery of an intruder, Chase, in her home in the middle of the night leads her on an adventure she couldn't imagine. Minerva is shocked to discover a Duke she has never met has died and left her a small fortune. Minerva and Chase both seek to discover what really happened the night the Duke died. Was he murdered or was it an accident? While they work on their inquiries they struggle against the attraction between them.

This is a well written book with an interesting plot line that keeps the reader focused. The characters are fun and bright and have the reader cheering them on. The romance part of this novel is a piece and not the whole focus. The story is fun and well worth a read.

Another great story written by Madeline Hunter. Has everything, mystery, romance and a quirky Duke who died under mysterious circumstances. Chase is his nephew with a interest in solving mysteries. He finds himself surrounded by more mysteries, including Madeline or is she a Madeline? This is the first of her new series, so of course there is a cliffhanger! I can’t wait till May to read Kevin story, another of the Duke’s nephew.

If you can seriously suspend disbelief that a poor widow would receive a mysterious bequest in a duke’s will, you will enjoy this novel. Minerva lives quietly with her housekeeper and the housekeeper’s son. When she finds out about her inheritance she decides to open up a detective agency to investigate delicate problems for women. And she needs to investigate the duke’s death because she’s worried that she’ll be fingered for his murder. And it just so happens that Chase Radnor, one of the duke’s nephews, also does investigations. And now he’s investigating the probably nurder of his uncle as well as the three women who received such generous gifts in the duke’s will.

Of course, they’re attracted to each other as they keep meeting up in the course of their mutual investigations.. I really enjoyed the book, but it was a bit disappointing that only one of the mysteries is resolved by the end of the book. I guess I’ll just have to wait for the next two novels in the series that will clearly involve the other two grandsons of the duke and the other two women in his will. I look forward to reading them.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for this ebook in exchange for my honest review.

The recently deceased Duke of Hollinburgh has left significant sums of money to three women his family has never met. His nephew, Chase Radnor, is hired by the new duke to investigate the death and determine if it was an accident, a suicide or murder. Chase also needs to find the three women. He starts with Minerva Hepplewhite. Minerva swears she has never met the former duke. If that's true, why would he include Minerva in his will?

Minerva has had a very difficult past. However, she has changed her life and this money will allow her to open her own business - Hepplewhite's Office of Discreet Inquiries. She doesn't know why the former duke decided to give her this money but she will use it to help create a future for herself. What she does not need is Chase snooping around and opening up any inquiries as to what happened in her past. Minerva decides to do some investigating on her own. Maybe if she can figure out what happened to the duke, Chase can stop his investigation.

I loved this book. Minerva is a strong, intelligent woman who is learning to trust again. Chase is smart, kind and protective and exactly what Minerva needs. Heiress for Hire is well written, the character development is great and the investigative work keeps the reader engaged. Just be aware that this is the first in a series so everything isn't resolved at the end of this book. I would have loved an epilogue but I will just have the read the next book! I read a lot of regency romance and this one was excellent.

An enjoyable murder mystery historical romance that does leave some questions at the end. This didn’t take away from the overall story in the book, however, and I look forward to the next book!

Madeline Hunter is a true gem! I have many books by her gracing my shelves and Heiress for Hire will surely be joining them as soon as it comes to print. I loved these characters and as always the flawless story building by the amazing authoress. I fell in love as they did and was on the edge of my seat the entire novel. I’m so happy I had the chance to read and give feedback on this wonderful story,

With a unique twist on a widow heiress romance, this story hits the reader in all the rights spots. The heroine is a smart woman, but holding on to a secret that she could be executed for. The hero is the nephew of a duke who has made virtual strangers designated heirs in his will. The hero is investigating one of these strangers. The characters are believable and very likeable. There is danger amidst mystery and action. The heroine had survived an abusive marriage and the hero has survived the war.
This story is very well written with a complex, yet understandable plot line. There were few grammar or spelling errors that I could see and it made reading so much smoother. This may be one of a series of stories, but it reads like a stand alone book. I had such a good feeling after reading this book. It kept my attention and I liked the fact that this was not a story about one party after another. I would recommend this book. 5 stars

As always, Ms. Hunter delivers a sweet and sexy romance with just the right amount of tension and mystery. A truly decadent guilty pleasure that will leave you craving more! I am not one to notice any historic inaccuracies so I cannot speak to that, but I do know that I didn't want to put this book down because it contained all the elements I love in a steamy historical romance. An absolutely fun and feisty plot that will bring you back in time without all the gross and gory parts you want to forget about - all while you fall in love with the characters themself. I can't wait to read more in the series.

Heiress for hire is another lovely book by Madeline Hunter. The dialogue is beautiful, the characters are interesting and normal people. It seems to follow a pretty common formula for her books, while solving a family mystery, 3 men (cousins this time) find interesting and intrepid women. The formula works for me because I have read them and loved all of them.

Chase’s uncle, a wealthy, eccentric duke, has died under mysterious circumstances. More mysterious is his will; he has left three large legacies to three unknown women. Chase is asked by his cousin, the new duke, and the Home Office to find the three women and to investigate his uncle’s death. Minerva is living a quite life with her two friends/servants thinking of starting an inquiry (detective) agency when she learns of her inheritance from a stranger (Chase) who has broken into her house.

This was a page turner not so much because of the mysterious death but because of the development of the romance between the two main characters. The supporting characters (including the dead uncle) were well done, the introduction to the following two stories was obvious but worked well, but best of all were the two main characters: considerate, smart, heroic. .

This book was fantastic! Heiress for Hire is part romance and part mystery. Chase's uncle, a duke, comes to an untimely death and the will surprisingly leaves most of the inheritance to three strangers. Minerva is one of those strangers. In his investigation into who Minerva is and what her relationship with his uncle had been, Chase learns that not only does she have secrets in her past but she also decides to investigate the duke's death as she had never met or heard from him in the past. Both believe that the duke may have been potentially murdered. Many suspects include much of Chase's family with lots of cousins, aunts and uncles.

This book is fun. The characters are smart and well-written. Minerva is a strong and independent woman...so different from so many others from that time, whether by choice or not. Chase is just so likable. The mystery of "whodunnit" was maybe my favorite part and had me guessing all the way to the end. Madeline Hunter has written a fantastic novel with an ending that invites more to the story. I very much look forward to revisiting this family and characters again in future books from this series. I give this book a solid five stars and would recommend to anyone who loves historical romance or mysteries.

Chase is hesitant in the beginning to trust Minerva to help him make inquiries into his uncle's death. He soon sees that she can be an asset. Together they make great partners, in more than one way if you ask me. I really enjoyed reading, Heiress for Hire. I can't wait until the second book in the series comes out.

What a good mystery romance! Loved the premise of this unusual love story by Madeline Hunter! Minerva Hipplewhite, widow of a brute of a man, along with her servant, friend Bess, and Bess's son Jeremy; embark on a enquiry business. Chase Radnor, handsome, grandson of a Duke, former Army investigator, now a private investigator probes into the present Duke's death, his Uncle to be precise. Good characters, very well written, makes for a truly great read!
I highly recommend! Thank you Netgalley!
carolintallahassee.com

I was extremely excited to read this book. As a lover of all things Madeline Hunter I couldn't wait to get started on this one. I was not disappointed! I really liked the interplay between the heroine and hero. How their stories evolved and how they slowly relayed their history to each other. Their intimacy grew. It wasn't sudden and sordid which made it all the more precious. I realized as I was reading this story how much the premise reminded me of the March/Lake series I have read and recently re-read by Amanda Quick. Ms. Hunter does it in her own style and they are both equally wonderful to read. I am very excited for the next installment to come along. May can't get here soon enough!!

I was fortunate enough to receive an advanced copy of this book and I was not disappointed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for an e-galley of this novel.

I suppose this book should be classified as a cliffhanger but I'm not so concerned about that as I might normally be since I picked up the book to read knowing it was a trilogy all wrapped around a basic premise. A Duke has died and his will reveals that he has left a veritable fortune to three women his family don't know anything about. Naturally the relatives had been counting on any fortunes to be coming their way so they are upset with the terms of the will. When the Home Office gives one of the family members the charge of gathering evidence to show whether the death was an accident or something else the private lives of the family members begin to be revealed.

In this first book in the series the plot revolves around Miss Minerva Hepplewhite who has begun Hepplewhite's Office of Discreet Inquiries to earn a living. Minerva has quite an interesting backstory which is uncovered pretty quickly by Chase Radnor who has been charged by the Home Office with uncovering the circumstances of the death of the Duke. Miss Hepplewhite might be one of the missing women who have been left a large legacy so Chase is investigating her past. Can these two strong willed people join forces to solve the investigation? Hmm, I wonder.

This book is liberally peppered with people who are inquiry agents; Minerva, Chase and one other. I liked the writing style of Madeline Hunter and the gathering of evidence was handled well so that portion of the novel was satisfactory for me also. As expected Minerva and Chase soon begin to establish a romantic relationship which felt pretty rushed to me but what's an author supposed to do with only a certain number of pages to accomplish all that needs to happen. Vague hints were given about who the next recipient of a legacy might be but we will have to wait to see how that portion of the story plays out.

I loved this story of two people (Minerva and Chase) with trust issues who meet to accomplish a common goal of finding out who killed someone. I look forward to reading about the other heiresses in the next books in this series. I received an ARC from Kensington Books and NetGalley for my honest review.

A clever and fast-paced historical romance with tons of mystery and intrigue! Aspiring detectress Minerva Hepplewhite is astounded when she inherits a large sum from a duke-even more so since she never met the man! While she investigates his family, his nephew Chase, an investigator, is looking into the mysterious woman in his uncle's will...and the mysterious circumstances surrounding his uncle's death. When their paths collide, sparks fly and the mystery deepens.

This book was a lovely surprise. I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would.
Minerva and Chase were great characters. Their relationship was paced perfectly and they had really good, strong personalities, without being overbearing or explosive. Their romance was realistic and sweet. The detective aspects of the plot were great and they really carried the story along. Just a little dash of mystery to make things more riveting. I really liked how there's more to discover in the following books. I'm looking forward to knowing more about the former Duke and his motives.