3 stars

I found this book slow to get in to, lots of back stories and descriptions of their life in America. I'm assumng the author is settting us up for a series. Three sisters are almost destitute when their grandmother suggests selling their mother's ruby ring. The two eldest go to Boston to sell it. The jeweller seems inordinately interested but tries to rip them off. They leave and the jewel is stolen and the theif jumps on a ship to London. The sisters sell Evie's dress and buy passage to England. It must have been a very expensive dress as they subsequently live on this money. Joanna finds a detective, our hero, Thomas Kincaid, to try and locate the ring. The sisters discuss the rent of a room in London in dollars which seemed odd to me. The book starts to speed up from halfway and changes from kisses to full on oral and other sexual practices. Kincaid is also trying to find out who killed his friends mistress. The friend is a Duke and likely to be arrested. Joannas sister Evie is obsessed with finding herself a Duke. By the end the heroine has hit another woman in the face, the ring has been located and other relations have been found very quickly. None by our hero's efforts and he hasn't solved his friends problem either, thus setting us up for further books, I doubt I will continue with this series.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A-maz-ing! This book kept me entranced from the first word to the last. It has so much going for it. An American woman, a secret, a detective (my catnip), and holy cow the banter. If you like a lot of back and forth talking then this story is for you. It is interesting, witty, clever and takes you places you never knew you wanted to go. I love how Jillian portrays Joanna as outspoken but not over the top. She says yes, he says no. But why? Kincaid is a dream come to for me. Bespectacled, a detective and smart as a whip, hell yeah! I have read a lot of Jillian’s stories and this is my favorite – say it isn’t so, even more than Bow Street Brides? Yes. I look forward to more books in this series. I hope Sterling gets one at some point. I did love him.

Joanna Thorncroft and her sister Evie are American. They've followed the trail to London to catch a thief. A thief that stole their mother's ring. Hidden by their mother for many years, it carries a secret. Joanna hires British private detective, Kincaid, she's been told he's the best. Once the investigation begins, Joanna's connection to the past stirs up the ton.
The forefront of the book is the hot and cold relationship between Joanna and Kincaid. Mix in some humor and a cat it's a lot more entertaining.
By the end of this book there are some unresolved issues I assume will be continued in the next book.(?)
I was also expecting more interaction between Joanna and her British connections, but it just wasn't there.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.