Marguerite "Daisy" Townsend pretends to be a maid in the house of David Blackwood, also known as Bishop, in order to catch him having an affair. However, she discovers that Bishop actually helps unhappily married women escape their situations. When he is accused of murder, Daisy aids in proving his innocence.

I really enjoyed the unique take on the typical rake storyline. Although the romantic relationship took a backseat to the mystery plot, I still liked it. If you're a fan of "Miss Scarlet and the Duke," you'll probably enjoy this story.

I received an advanced reader copy (eARC) from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this set up alot with the heroine undercover and the angst that came with that. But, Bishop quickly learns of her secret and the romantic tension between them was lost early on in my opinion. When Bishop is accused of murdering the husband of a woman he was helping, Daisy and him work together to solve the mystery. f the beginning had eased into the romance a bit more, the relationship wouldn't have felt so instant and implausible. As it is, we ended up disappointed that there wasn't more substance between the two MCs.

It’s been a minute since I’ve been in the mood for a historical romance and if anyone could draw me back in it’s Lorraine Heath. I enjoyed the connection/bridge this had with her previous series and all of the cameos but characters from other books in her world. This had a modernity that I wasn’t expecting (though I should’ve) but really enjoyed. Both Bishop and Daisy have compelling backstories and their journey to HEA is sweet and harrowed. Looking forward to diving into the next book in the series and meeting the other Chessmen and their queens.

4 out of 5 wine glasses.

Solid story line with the reputed rake that isn't really the womanizer he seems to be and the lady sleuth. Good plot, some intrigue, and steamy goodness! All in all ,I enjoyed it.

I'm knee deep in my Lorraine Heath binge-a-thon and am finally getting caught up in her Chessmen series with the first book 'The Counterfeit Scoundrel.
While I liked a lot of elements of this story, especially Daisy & Bishop's backgrounds and the premise of her masquerading as a maid in his household in order to determine if he's the blackguard he's accused of being and the murder mystery elements, I struggled with a few things.
The biggest struggle was their chemistry. As soon as they meet it's very much insta-lust but it took longer for it to translate that way to me. Eventually I was caught up in their attraction but it just didn't feel as organic as it typically feels for Lorraine Heath characters.
I also thought we'd get more backstory/moments of Bishop and the other Chessmen. I was kind of excited as the premise of their friendship is intriguing but we really didn't get to meet them and that bummed me out.
I typically struggle with the first book of a new series so it could be just me. But while it wasn't my favorite, I am glad I got to see how Daisy & Bishop's love story played out. I also adored the relationship between Daisy and her aunt. And that epilogue
Lorraine is queen of the epilogue. I am very
much looking forward to the next book and imagine it will only get better from here!

Tropes/Themes:
-MF historical romance
-“Fake fake” plot line (he helps “ruin” women to get them out of unwanted marriages)
-Hidden identity (heroine is an inquiry agent hired to infiltrate the hero’s household)
-Forced proximity
-Hero falls first (instant attraction)
-Suspense subplot
-Dual POV (3rd person)
-Book #1 in an interconnected standalone series


I liked but didn’t love this. It was a little too heavy on the instant attraction and the pacing was straight up goofy. The ending felt super anticlimactic since the big reveal/villainous monologue happened a little too early. I also think I wanted a little bit more grit and suspense from the plot.

But hey, an average Lorraine Heath book is still a very solid read in my opinion.

CWs for substance abuse, loss of a loved one to substance abuse

Lorraine Heath is an author I usually reliably enjoy so I was disappointed I didn’t like this more. I really liked the main characters, both their personalities and their interesting vocations, especially Bishop, who fakes affairs to help women get out of bad marriages. But the story failed to deliver on the promising premise.

I thought the first part of the book was a bit slow. I was really interested in the characters but didn’t really understand their attraction. It was based more in lust than in conversation, which is always hard for me to buy into. Also lots of internal monologues and not enough of the main characters interacting. The story picks up in the middle and you start to see why they might be attracted to each other but the romance never really clicked for me, until the very end, and then felt rushed. There were also occasions where the story was told in summary rather than in detail, almost like a montage. Meanwhile the mystery plot kind of takes over from the romance in the last part. Also, what started out as a story based in thwarting patriarchal social structures ends with a fairly predictable murder mystery and one of the villains is a woman. If you’re going to set up an interesting anti-patriarchy premise, don’t give me a plot twist that seems to say we shouldn’t believe victims! Ultimately there was a kernel of a great story here but it didn’t materialize. I really liked these characters and feel like they deserved a better story!

Final note, despite the name of the series, this has nothing to do with chess. That’s fine I guess, but it felt like another missed opportunity and o was disappointed there’s no thematic relevance to the name of the series.

This was my first Lorraine Heath and well…it’s sadly a huge miss. However I do want to read more from her and everyone was telling me this wasn’t the best one to start with.

My biggest issue with this book was the pacing. We started the book so strong and I was really excited. I fell in love with the hero instantly but after 10% the plot dragged and basically for 30% of this book nothing happened? The pacing was just so bad and I’m baffled by how abruptly it slowed down after we got thrown into it.

Like we just kept going in circles and the plot in the synopsis didn’t happen by the time I gave up at 36%. I was just confused.

My other problem was the heroine. I found her annoying and honestly extremely judgmental of the hero. I honestly didn’t understand what her problem was. I overall stopped rooting for them at this point bc he deserved someone who wasn’t as judgmental and deserved someone loving and caring.

Yeah not the best LH to start with but I have some other books by her I want to read!

Lorraine Heath is a longtime favorite author of mine and while I don’t typically love heavy mystery/intrigue/spy plots in my historical romance, I had to give it a try. Alas, this wasn’t my favorite from Heath. It’s still a fun book (especially if you’re into those tropes) and worth the read since it's setting up a new series. I look forward to getting to know the other Chessman and the rest of the series!

I really enjoyed this one, it had a different storyline, and that was refreshing!
I liked both our hero and heroine, they were both great characters, and they had a great chemistry. They had to overcome their pasts in order to see a future together, as most romances do, but what made this one different was that Daisy had the strength to say she deserved to be put first. I loved that.

It was a delightful read and I am looking forward to the second installment!

This is one of Lorraine Heath's newest releases from a brand new series. Lorraine Heath is quickly becoming one of my favorite romance authors around. It took me a while to begin reading her books but I started to notice the interesting choices she makes with her stories. She does not take the easy route with her stories and I applaud for that. In this book, we have Bishop who is known around the ton as a rake. He has a reputation of cheating with married women and it has led those husbands to not be too fond of him. Then we have Daisy, who's hired as a private investigator to catch Bishop in the act of seducing one of the cuckolded husbands' wives in the act. You quickly realize that Bishop is actually helping these women get away from abusive and horrible marriages. I loved the idea of this book but I don't think the romance was executed to the extent it could have been. But, overall I enjoyed this read.

This was a great historical romance novel from Lorraine Heath! The plot was unique. I would recommend to those who think it sounds good!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

I enjoyed this and am looking forward to the upcoming installments and apprciate a few characters from the previous series popping up

Lorraine Heath is a go to author for me, but I wasn’t thrilled with the beginning of this new series. Bishop lets everyone think his reputation is atrocious while secretly helping women in bad marriages. Daisy is hired to investigate him. Just didn’t work for me,

Loved the premise of the story but found it a bit slow in places. All of the characters are wonderful, and I loved everything about them. Bishop and Daisy are perfectly matched and adorable. I loved their chemistry and banter throughout the story. I absolutely loved his friends and cannot wait for their stories!

This was a very different historical romance. Chessman series, book 1 involves a wealthy man who is shunned by polite society because of his notorious seductions. Marguerite (Daisy) Townsend is an investigator who has been hired by a wronged husband to find proof of his wife's infidelity so he can sue for divorce. With the story line inverted with a female detective and a wronged rake, this story was fun and different. I look forward to the 2nd installment of this Chessman series.

I have read many books by this author, but this one failed to hold my attention, and I can’t put a finger on why. The characters were interesting, the mystery easy to figure out, and the ending was predictable.

Born into an aristocratic family, yearning for a life beyond Society’s strictures, Marguerite “Daisy” Townsend is an enterprising sleuth. Hired to obtain proof of a wife’s infidelity, she secures a position in the household of the woman’s lover, never expecting to be lured into the seductive blackguard’s arms herself. Devilishly handsome, David Blackwood, known widely as Bishop, quickly realizes the enticing maid is interested in far more than dusting. She aims to uncover his sins. Although tempted by the dangerous beauty, he can’t risk her learning the truth: his affairs are chaste. As a boy who witnessed his mother’s abusive relationship, Bishop now helps desperate wives escape unhappy marriages. He was accused of murder.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion of this book which I read and reviewed voluntarily.

Lorraine Heath always has such fascinating plots to me. This one was intriguing because in it Bishop is helping women get divorced and Daisy is an Inquiry Agent. I had no real idea where the plot was going either because in typical Heath fashion, you start out with the basic plot (Daisy goes undercover to prove that some guy’s wife is having an affair with Bishop and Daisy and Bishop wind up very intrigued by one another) and then about halfway through, that plot gets turned on its head. Ultimately, I enjoyed this story quite a lot, but it didn’t have the compulsively readable magic that my favorites from Heath have possessed. I would pick it up and sit it down without fretting over when the next time would be that I could sneak another few pages. So, all in all, a very solid book with just a few pieces that ultimately felt like they were missing for me.

For example, Bishop has really dedicated his life to improving the lives of individual women because of his family history. His dad was abusive toward his mom. But he’s also spent his life trying to thwart his dad’s business interests and just generally ruin his dad’s life. While I liked the emotional build up this caused with his relationship with Daisy, I felt like it sort of fizzled out before we got a really satisfying conclusion to it. Daisy’s relationship with her aunt and uncle though had quite the satisfying emotional resolution to me, so it just felt a little uneven in that sense. Overall, a romance I would recommend, but not one of my favorites from Heath.

Told in third person, this story follows David who sacrifices his reputation to help women escape abusive relationships and Daisy, a young woman posing as a maid in his household for the purposes of catching him committing adultery with a client’s wife. I found both main characters to be intriguing as well as intelligent with interesting purpose in their lives. Their repartee was enjoyable and their adventures to figure out a mysterious death and prove David’s innocence propelled the story along at a good pace. I look forward to trying the next book in the series.

Recommended to historical romance lovers.

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon for a copy provided for an honest review.