by Patricia Veryan

***spoilers***
This was never one of my favorites and had I not been on a mission to read all of the Veryans in Chronological order, I probably would not have re-read it. I was never that enthralled with Tio Glendenning or Amy Consett and I pretty much skipped through the parts with them together. I did enjoy the parts with Falcon and Jamie. The ride to the coast was nail-biting. Veryan really knows how to write exciting action scenes whether it is a duel, or a chase, or a showdown between the forces of good and evil. One of the things I remembered about this one was the tense scene at the Bowers-Malden estate when they thought they could not produce the Comyn pin which would prove the family innocent of treason. It just was not as good as I remembered! Nothing as good as the confrontation scene in Practice to Deceive and the courtroom scene in Love Alters not. I thought Amy running away at the end and then returning was dumb pointless other than to torture poor Tio (as if he needed to go through anymore misery.) I really could not overlook the fact that Tio Glendenning fought for the Jacobite cause and became involved in the lists and treasure and then came home which put the lives and reputation of his family at great risk. Not to mention his good friends (see Love Alters Not). And then all he can do is feel terrible and say he is sorry he never meant it. He is far from the only Jacobite in Veryan’s series’ but it was different with them. They had the decency to be Scottish, or to run away to France to protect their families. Well, we’ll just draw a veil over this one. 3 stars for Tio’s Dad, his stepmother, the brief appearances of Falcon and Jamie, the ride to Dover, the appearance of Hilary Broadbent, Amy saving the day, and leading to the next one in this superb series. **3 stars out of 5**

June 3, 2018