The Merchant's Daughter: An enchanting historical mystery from the author of THE HOUSE OF LOST WIVES by Rebecca HardyMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Jenny's life is irreparably altered when her beloved father dies suddenly. When his will is read she discovers that his import/export business partnership contract stipulates his shares revert to his business partners unless Jenny's husband chooses to join the business. Accordingly, she and her mother will be practically penniless unless she can convince his business partners that she is getting married and find a willing patsy within a week.
Enter Erasmus Black, a handsome charming merchant with a roguish twinkle in his eye. But Erasmus is not what he seems and he has his own reasons for wanting to get close to Jenny's father's business partners.
This had a lot going for it, but maybe too much. Pirates, murder, brothels, attempted rape, slavery, the Ottoman Empire, kidnapping, an uncanny ability to detect lies - it felt like there was so much going on that nothing really got developed properly and some things were unnecessary. With all these things going on we really don't get much of a feel for who Erasmus really is under all the pretence. I understand that Jenny is a character from one of the author's previous novels, which may explain why there is some extraneous detail that really isn't needed for the plot.
Overall, I liked it but I didn't love it.
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
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