1819 Rosalind Thorne has been asked by Mrs Walford to investigate Horatio Slater, suitor to her heiress daughter Augustina. But soon she has her own personal problems when her father, Sir Reginald Thorne, escapes the confines of her sister Charlotte’s home. What trouble can he, a drunk and forger, now bring down on his two daughters. But then Sir Reginald is murdered, and Bow Street Runner friend Adam Harkness investigates with the help of Rosalind.
An entertaining and well-written historical mystery with its cast of likeable and interesting characters. Another good addition to the series.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A Counterfeit Suitor had a much quicker pace than the previous novel and I have to wonder if it doesn’t have something to do with the change in scenery. Back in London, Rosalind seems to be racing from one place to the next as she follows the twists and turns of her investigation. The underlying threat that Russell Thorne represents to her life and livelihood also adds tension to an already dramatic storyline. With the addition of her love interest Investigator Adam Harkness, I found myself engaged and enthralled with this plot and eagerly turning each page.

There was really a LOT going on in this novel, which helped to capture my attention and hold it. Rosalind’s living depends upon her respectable reputation and it ran the risk of being irredeemably damaged throughout this novel. This time in history is not a favorable one to unmarried women, the details of which are fascinating and really disturbing. It also makes for some great reading.

A Counterfeit Suitor could be read without having any of the background you would know from having read the previous books but I really wouldn’t recommend it. You need to know the history behind each character’s actions, which only add to the reasons Rosalind makes certain decisions, as well as why these people stand by her side. If you are already a fan, don’t wait to pick this book up, it is one of the best in the series to date. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest!

I’ve read and thoroughly enjoyed the previous Rosalind Thorne books and therefore was excited to pick up the newest one. Thank you Kensington books for my DRC.

Rosalind is an intelligent and resourceful character whose adventures always make for a good story. In this outing we see Rosalind solving mysteries with her trusty friend Alice. Together they work to uncover who killed her father and learn how his death ties to the man sworn to takedown Rosalind. I quite enjoyed this story as it focused on Rosalind and her complicated family dynamics.

I also enjoyed seeing the relationship with Adam and Rosalind grow and deepen. I certainly am looking forward to what comes next for them both. If historical fiction with a good side of murder and mystery and a sprinkle of romance is your jam I highly recommend picking up this series.

A terrifically entertaining Regency cozy of sorts. It's got good characters and a zippy complex plot. Rosalind must deal not only with her effort to vet a suitor for Mrs. Walford's daughter but also with her father's wastrel if ever there was one. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. I'd not read the earlier books and this was fine as a standalone. A good read.

After turning down the offer of marriage to a duke, a woman with precarious status in society needs to prove her worth, but the appearance of her ne’er-do-well father and his subsequent murder is more than a ticklish problem that she can deftly snap her fingers at. The Rosalind Thorne stories are more than a mystery series, but the story of a woman living down unearned family reputation and making her own way in English high society. I’ve cheered her on from the beginning and love the cunning mysteries she must tackle along the way.

A Counterfeit Suitor is the fifth in the Regency era historical mystery series of books that really must be read in order to see Rosalind’s personal story and growing romance from the beginning.

Rosalind turned down her first crush and love along with his title and fortune when it only made sense to take him up on his marriage offer. A gambling father who shattered the family fortunes and left with his oldest daughter for the continent while Rosalind remained with a depressed mother who eventually passed away and left her alone to face the sneers and snubs of their former high society acquaintances. She made do by becoming society’s Useful Woman for a monetary consideration that was the sole means of keeping her from penury. All this would have been swept away if she had accepted his hand. But, too much time has passed and Rosalind has learned to appreciate being an independent woman making her own way. Not to mention her heart might be tugging in her in an entirely different direction and toward the hard-working lower class Bow Street Runner who has admired and supported, plus aided her in her mystery-solving work all along.

But, now her reputation and work are in jeopardy once again when the malice of an enemy aids her father back into London society right about the time Rosalind has her hands full helping a mother determine if her daughter’s suitor is in love or merely a fortune hunter. Sir Reginald Thorne’s death has Rosalind and her courtesan sister, Charlotte, at the top of the suspect list along with another surprising candidate, her enemy, Russell Fullerton. She has to get to the bottom of the murder and not just to be declared innocent. There are ties to espionage and Napoleon behind all this.

While the last book was okay and I was relieved to have the love triangle resolved, it didn’t exactly sparkle for me. A Counterfeit Suitor jumped back into all that makes this series something special. Rosalind is active and in her stride even when she is harried by all that is thrown at her. There are no wishy-washy moments and she charges right into the fray. She had to adjust when her housekeeper took off and she went in with Alice and she has to face her embarrassing and ugly past when her father is back in the picture, but Charlotte is there as is the redoubtable Adam and her small circle of friends to get her through. I loved the added suspense from the war-time espionage aspect and the mystery was well beyond me figuring it out. But, most of all, I liked seeing her acknowledge her feelings for Adam and that she was in love with a working class man and that was all right.

All in all, this one sparkled and was a cover to cover satisfactory read. Historical mystery fans who love the Regency world, a growing and strong female lead, and clever mystery plots should check out this series.

It is every mama’s dearest wish that her daughter marries well. But how to ensure that a seemingly earnest suitor is not merely a fortune hunter? Rosalind is involved in just such a case, discreetly investigating a client’s prospective son-in-law, when she is drawn into another predicament shockingly close to home. Rosalind’s estranged father, whose a drunkard and forger has fallen into the hands of the vicious scoundrel Russell Fullerton. Angered by her interference in his blackmail schemes, Fullerton intends to unleash Sir Reginald on society and ruin Rosalind. Before Rosalind’s enemy can act, Sir Reginald is found murdered and Fullerton is arrested for the crime. He protests his innocence, and Rosalind reluctantly agrees to uncover the truth, suspecting that this mystery may be linked to her other, ongoing cases. Aided by her sister, Charlotte, and sundry friends and associates including handsome Bow Street Runner Adam Harkness Rosalind sets to work. But with political espionage and Napoleon loyalists in the mix, there may be more sinister motives, and far higher stakes, than she ever imagined
This is the fifth book in the series, it’s the first I've read & I thoroughly enjoyed it & had no difficulty with joining the series at this stage but I’ll definitely be reading the earlier books. I really like Rosalind & found her to be a strong woman who was starting to admit to herself that she was developing feelings for Adam. The characters were well portrayed & had lovely depth. The pace is very good & I read it in two sittings, finishing well after midnight. A very well written mystery, which I recommend
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

A Counterfeit Suitor is the fifth book in the Rosalind Thorne mystery series by Darcy Wilde. I have enjoyed every book in the series, and the latest installment is no exception. The main heroine, Rosalind Thorne, helps ladies to solve trouble discreetly and without scandal. She has become a useful woman to the rich and noble families of Regency London.

In this book the trouble strikes closer to home, and Rosalind has to solve the murder of her own estranged father, who abandoned her and her mother when she was a young girl. To solve the murder she will need the help of her friends, her sister, and of course the dashing Bow Street runner Adam Harkness. A Counterfeit Suitor is a well written, absorbing historical murder mystery and it's a great edition to the series. I am looking forward to reading the next book.

Set in 1819 England, this is a historical series that continues to entertain. Rosalind Thorne was raised in the aristocracy but her world went to pieces when her father, Sir Reginald - drunk, forger and all around deadbeat - did a runner to France. That left her mother to fend for herself at a time when women didn't have many options. After her mother died, Rosalind had to make her way in life on her own and she found her niche as a useful woman, a woman to whom other women could turn for help dealing with sensitive situations. She's good at investigating and, in time, those investigations involve homicides.
Her new client is a wealthy widow who's money comes from the trades and she wants Rosalind to help her host a charity ball, keep an eye on her daughter and try to find out if her daughter is consorting with a fortune hunter. That isn't all that Rosalind soon has to deal with when her father and sister reappear and things fall apart, fast. After a public confrontation with his daughter, Sir Reginald is murdered. Spice it up with a bit of Napoleonic politics and a complex mystery to unravel and you have an engrossing, well written mystery. The setting, the characters and the Regency period are all wonderfully depicted.
My thanks to the publisher, Kensington and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

First of all, how much more can I adore Rosalind? I don’t know. She’s so rational and steady, but the mystery here tears her wide open. Seeing the family dynamic and how Rosalind operates when she cares deeply about the problem that needs to be solved? Fresh and exciting. Seeing the way her friends gather around her to support her (or don’t) solidified their relationships and colored in their characters.

I love that her friends are all becoming more involved, as are the fellows at Bow Street like Samson Goutier, and I want more and more of them. They don’t overwhelm our core group, though, and I appreciate that there aren’t just 1000 people to keep track of, especially in a very complicated mystery like this one.

The mystery itself was the highest stakes yet, and full of complications, twists, turns, and hidden agendas. Dare I say, the best one yet? The addition of Fullerton and potential betrayal around every corner, and especially the danger of the climax moment kept me on the edge of my seat and I totally didn’t know where it was going. It also opened the door to more mystery, more intrigue, and future books and possibilities for out characters that are only going to get more dangerous.

The relationship development in this book was extremely well done, and I can't wait to see how it keeps working out.

Overall, this was definitely my favorite of the series. The stakes were high, the intrigue was high, and the characters sparkled after the last book resolved some huge issues that were always distracting from the storyline. Can’t wait to see where this goes and I’m already dying for the next book!

Love, love this charming series! From the sweet cover to the riveting first sentence to the incredible ending, this story is set in 1819 London with Napoleonic undercurrents and is pure joy to read. Darcie Wilde has a gorgeous way with words, very witty, fun and twisty, yet with oodles of depth. Cozy with oomph! The historical details are breathtaking from clothing to homes to parties to occupations to society to politics, clearly well researched, not just added as an after thought. I like that social mores are so important to the author, as is capturing correct vernacular. Juicy deceptions are abundant, thankfully. And then murder comes knocking...

Rosalind Thorne is a young woman with a special skillset. She is confidential, cunning and logical and has been asked by various people to help solve problems, sometimes not exactly petty crimes, either. She inveigles and prioritizes justice. Her estranged father is in trouble. And he IS trouble with links to Russell Fullerton who has a nasty reputation. Rosalind's client hires her to discover secrets in her fascinating family. Rosalind's sister Charlotte has her own issues and secrets. Who doesn't? Dear friends Alice and Adam are other characters who make frequent appearances. Some characters are eccentric and quirky, all have potential to be suspects.

Historical Fiction readers, please read this remarkable series. It would truly be a shame to miss.

My sincere thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this superb book!

A Counterfeit Suitor is the fifth book in the Rosalind Thorne Series. In this installment we find Rosalind planning a charity ball for one of the Ton when intrigue ensues. The family planning the ball are new to London society and have a daughter that needs to marry well. However, is the man courting her a scoundrel as the mother suspects? This book involves much more of Rosalind's family as well. Her father is taken hostage by an enemy of Rosalind's to blackmail her. Then he is murdered and the enemy needs Rosalind's help to clear his name. Rosalind's sister Charlotte also plays a large part in the book. But Rosalind is never alone, she has her friends Adam, Alice and others to assist her as the plot unfolds. Thank you #NetGalley for allowing me to give my honest and voluntary opinion of #ACounterfeitSuitor

This latest Rosalind Thorne mystery is absolutely superb! What begins as a simple routine request becomes convoluted as Rosalind realizes her "client" has not been honest with her. In fact the entire family is keeping secrets from her and one another. To add another permutation to the unfolding disaster Sir Reginald Thorne appears, hellbent on ruining his daughters, aided by Rosalind's sworn enemy, the blackmailer Russell Fullerton. The situation becomes more and more complex, even as Rosalind's friends come to her aid.

"A Counterfeit Suitor" is a mystery set in 1819 in England. This is the fifth book in the series. You don't need to read the previous books to understand this one, and this one didn't spoil the previous mysteries.

This was a clue-based puzzle mystery. Rosalind (and those helping her) asked good questions and collected information. Rosalind was clever, but most of the people involved either lied to her or tried to misdirect her. Whodunit was guessable near the end but wasn't obvious. The characters were interesting and reacted realistically to events. The author clearly researched the manners and etiquette of the time. Historical details were usually woven into the story, but she still sometimes simply told information about historical differences.

There was no sex. There was some bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting mystery.

"Among the ton of Regency London, one breath of scandal can be disastrous. Enter Rosalind Thorne in this charming mystery series inspired by the novels of Jane Austen and compared to a 19th century Phoebe Waller-Bridge from "Fleabag." Charming and resourceful, she is a woman adept at helping ladies of quality navigate the most delicate problems and privy to the secrets of high society - including who among the ton is capable of murder...

It is every mama’s dearest wish that her daughter marries well. But how to ensure that a seemingly earnest suitor is not merely a fortune hunter? Rosalind is involved in just such a case, discreetly investigating a client’s prospective son-in-law, when she is drawn into another predicament shockingly close to home.

Rosalind’s estranged father, Sir Reginald Thorne - a drunkard and forger - has fallen into the hands of the vicious scoundrel Russell Fullerton. Angered by her interference in his blackmail schemes, Fullerton intends to unleash Sir Reginald on society and ruin Rosalind. Before Rosalind’s enemy can act, Sir Reginald is found murdered - and Fullerton is arrested for the crime. He protests his innocence, and Rosalind reluctantly agrees to uncover the truth, suspecting that this mystery may be linked to her other, ongoing cases.

Aided by her sister, Charlotte, and sundry friends and associates - including handsome Bow Street Runner Adam Harkness - Rosalind sets to work. But with political espionage and Napoleon loyalists in the mix, there may be more sinister motives, and far higher stakes, than she ever imagined..."

I'm really into Regency right now but ANY blurb that gets in a reference to Jane Austen AND Fleabag in the same paragraph is a must read!

3.75 stars

This historical series features Rosalind Thorne, born into the aristocracy but humbled by her father's desertion and scandal. Rosalind must make her living "helping" society members solve their indelicate problems and doing their bidding.

She has been recruited by a wealthy tradesman's widow into helping ease her family's way into society by planning an elaborate charity ball. The widow is worried about the attentions of a particular young man to her daughter and wants Rosalind to discreetly investigate his background.

Rosalind's family is a hot mess -- her father is an unscrupulous drunkard and forger, and her sister is a courtesan. Her father turns up and causes an embarrassing commotion and then disappears, only to be found murdered. And these are potent political times as well, with Emperor Napoleon exiled and various plots hatching in England and France.

Rosalind and her friend Alice with the aid of Bow Street Runner Adam Harkness have to sift their way through the intrigues to figure out the murderer. Rosalind is a strong and resourceful character. Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoy Darcie Wilde’s series about Rosalind Thorne, a useful woman living on the edges of Regency society who ends up solving mysteries with the help of a varied group of friends and connections. This newest novel has a complicated plot involving the murder of Rosalind’s own father. While we follow Rosalind tracking down clues, we get to see more of her courtesan sister, best friend-social reporter, and love interest, Bow Street Runner, Adam Harkness.

It was a lot of fun and once I started reading the novel, I couldn’t put it down.

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.

I enjoyed this book. I feel like each one has steadily had more content that isn't clean in it, the last two being the worst. That being said, I likely won't read the next one(s). However, if you've loved the series before, this book won't disappoint! The storytelling is just as developed and intriguing as the others, and the book as a whole was engaging. If the clean content didn't bother me, it would have been a 5 star!

Rosalind is back again, and this time her reticule is more than full. Between new clients, her father escaping her estranged sister, and stumbling upon a Bonapartist plot it's a wonder she hasn't given over to vapors.

But Rosalind Thorne is more than equal to the tasks, isn't she? The twists and turns in this fifth book in the series are more than enough to make your head spin. What Rosalind usually navigates easily with grace and ease becomes more difficult as estranged family members come back to town, a new client is more than they seem, and a nemesis threatens in the shadows to take everything she has worked so hard for.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this mystery novel. I felt invested in the story from the beginning. And the mystery kept me guessing throughout the book.

This is a truly brilliant installment to the Rosalind Thorne series. Just as Rosalind seems to maybe have her life figured out (she’s decided upon her beau, had Alice move in with her, and somewhat reconnected with her sister), her ne’er-do-well father resurfaces, and then is quickly murdered. Oh, and her courtesan sister appears to be turning respectable and settling down. What?! Throw in some Bonapartists, scheming, and blackmail blackmail blackmail, and this is hands down the most trying situation Rosalind has dealt with yet.

There are some chapters from the villains’s point of view, which I enjoyed. I liked that I knew who was involved with the murder and scheming, but I couldn’t piece it together until the end.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.