The story sucked me in from the start and held my attention and made me not want to put down the book. It is worth your time.

Unmasking the Thief will draw you in from the beginning. Sweet Matty now gets her romance as she meets a man she realizes immediately is dangerous. Yet, she seems to know he is not dangerous to her. Mr. Francis, as his current name, is Spanish but mysteriously works for the Crown. He seems to know a lot of influential people and uses those friends and colleagues to help assure Matty he is a man she can trust.

Matty has troubles of her own when her sister inherits a small fortune and becomes engaged to a man whom Matty once thought she would marry. Matty wants her sister to see what kind of man he is as her reason for not marrying. To help along the intrigue, said man is the one Mr. Francis is pursuing for the Crown.

Maida Pleasure Gardens is again the place to be for meeting the love of your life. Matty and Francis are no exceptions. With Matty being a governess and Francis a person of intrigue, the romance is fantastic. You will fall in love with the secondary characters who make up Matty’s friends and family, as well as, stay in touch with lovers from previous books in the series. Each book in the series is a stand-alone, but I have loved reading in succession - each one gets better!

Unmasking the Thief pulls you in from the beginning and keeps you interested right up until the final page. There are no wasted words or chapters. Matty is a great character and I liked her right away. I have not read Viola's story so I didn't know anything about Matty prior to reading this book. She's a strong, independent woman who does not allow anyone to control her. And when she's held captive she doesn't sit around waiting for someone to save her - she is hoping someone will, but still tries to save herself. Franco is the perfect partner for her. He sees beyond her beauty and social position and actually listens to her ideas. Their meeting at Maida is equal parts intriguing and humorous. It was so great that they had so many other people who had their backs when they needed help. Thorne is a pretty awful guy, but not so overdone that you don't believe that part of the story. Emma is also not so terrible that she becomes a caricature. Don't get me wrong, she's terrible, but it's not hard to believe that there were women as petty and selfish as she during the time in which this story takes place. I also liked how her part of the story was resolved. The political intrigue of the story adds just the right amount of drama to the story. Overall, a really great story and addition to this series!

Miss Matty Mathers is very happy in her work as a governess, much to the dismay of her mother and sister. One of the girls she looks after comes to her with a problem. Hopefully Matty can help her.
Mr Francis has worked for the English Crown for many years, even though England is not the land of his birth. He can blend into many situations. Our hero is feeling the pressure from his way of life and gets a little careless.
A very exciting historical romance with a mystery to solve. This book is part of a series and if you have read any of the previous stories you will recognise some of the characters. However you can easily enjoy each book on it's own. They are all full of fabulous characters and lots fun.
I have loved all of them.

Unmasking the Thief by Mary Lancaster is the fifth book of the Pleasure Garden series. Governess Matty Mather loves working for the Doves. When Catherine Dove and her friend go to the Maida Pleasure Gardens and lose a borrowed ring to a thief, Matty is determined to retrieve it. She confronts the thief, but she finds herself drawn to the charming, mysterious man. Francisco de Salgado works for the British government. He has returned to England to resign, but decides to accept one last mission. He realizes his mistake in the mission and returns to Maida to rectify it. Francisco is immediately drawn to the woman who demands the ring back. The two soon find themselves as allies in a mission to discover who is planning to overthrow the British government.

I loved the mix of romance and adventure in this book. I also really enjoyed the use of multiple perspectives. It allowed the reader deeper knowledge of each character’s motivations. This was a very exciting read!

Another fabulous romance tied in with the Maida Pleasure Gardens.
Spanish emigree Francisco de Salgado y Goya plans to retire from his undercover work for the British Crown but agrees to do one more job. Unfortunately what should have been a simple task goes sadly awry and he soon finds his thoughts and emotions focused on governess Matilda ‘Matty’ Mathers rather than foiling a treasonous plot. Loved it - highly recommended.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

5 stars

An excellent addition to the series. We have met Matty before but now she gets her own book with a delicious hero called Francis. He is a spook for the government and realises something is afoot.

I enjoyed the return of some of the characters from before especially the boisterous pup. It makes me want to re read some of the earlier books.

I'd heartily recommend this witty and joyous book.

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

Governess Matty has to again clean up the mess one of her charges gets into when her ring is stolen at a pleasure garden. Francisco is working for the English government trying to find out who is stirring up unrest. When he steals the wrong ring, he is intrigued by Matty who comes to get it back. Realizing they have some mutual acquaintances, they decide to work together to find out who is behind trying to overthrown the government. I received an ARC from NetGalley and Dragonblade Publishing for my honest review.