Review: The Mask of Night by Tracy (Teresa) Grant
Author: Tracy (Teresa) Grant
Title: Fraser/Rannoch #6
Release: March 2011
Reviewer: Noa
Source: Personal LibraryPurchase:
A glittering ball, a whisper of intrigue, and a couple with secrets…
Regency London’s most glamorous couple, Mélanie and Charles Fraser have hidden their pasts from aristocratic society– and each other–to become the envy of the ton. But, when attending a 12th night masquerade, a mysterious masked man is found stabbed to the heart, and all their misdeeds and secrets may be dragged into full, merciless light. Mélanie’s previous ties to the Empress Josephine–including a promise to her desperate daughter Queen Hortense–and Charles’s secret work for the British government thrust them both into the search for the killer, taking them from Seven Dials to Mayfair, from viperous thieves’ dens to candlelit ballrooms, where the glitter of diamonds can mask the gleam of a knife…
Those of you who have avidly been following the Fraser/Rannoch series like I have know just how much I was looking forward to reading The Mask of Night. Those of you who have not read the series – why are you reading this instead of the series? (Read the review of Vienna Waltz Here and get some background).
Why am I so excited you ask? Because finally, readers get to see Melanie and Charles deal with the aftermath of the revelations of Secrets of a Lady. The build up for this story has been stupendous and yet as usual Tracy/Teresa Grant has exceeded expectations.
The Mask of Night begins a few months after the events of Secret of a Lady and while the deep love Melanie and Charles have for each other has managed to survive the storm of Melanie’s revelations, it does seem like the couple is walking in egg shells. When Melanie meets a friend from her past who swears her to secrecy it seems like her loyalties are once again being tested. Then a man is killed and the past seems closer than ever.
Grant is an incredible storyteller and her talents are definitely on display in Mask of Night. This book just has layer after layer to the plot and as each one gets peeled off I felt like another bandaid was being torn off. Charles and Melanie are both brought in to find out why a man was murdered at one of THE balls of the London season. While this would usually be a run of the mill task for these investigation pros, trust is harder to rebuild than Melanie and Charles thought and with new revelations jumping out at them from all sides, the tenuous relationship they are rebuilding is tested to the max.
I do so love Charles and Melanie, there is something so genuine about their love for each other. This isn’t a flowers and romance kind of love, but it is so much more. And I kept cheering them on from the sidelines as they worked through their problems rather than ignore and continue to put up walls. Betrayal is a very difficult thing to get over… And Mask of Night tests the limits this couple has when it comes to betrayal.
Favorite characters and characters we love to loath are back in full force for this complex and nail-biting murder mystery and my favorite thing about the story? Well, there were quite a few favorite things but one of my favorite things is that I see a new story arch in the making… More Charles/Malcolm and Melanie/Suzanne?
Yes. Please.
The Mask of Night Kindle edition is now available for just $2.99!!!!