Description (from cover):
‘Ursula Marlow thought she was done with death, but when her fiance, Lord Wrotham, is arrested on charges of treason, her world is turned upside down. t is the winter of 1913, and the British Parliament, unsettled on the question of Home Rule for Ireland, is shaken over allegations of a plot to sell naval military secrets to Kaiser’s Germany and liberate Ireland from English rule. For the first time, Ursula must work together with Chief Inspector Harrison to uncover the truth about Lord Wrotham’s involvement, as well as his mysterious past.
As the investigation continues, Ursula is drawn into the shadowy world of the Irish Republican Brotherhood and a web of espionage and betrayal. She must race against time to clear Lord Wrotham’s name and thwart a plot that threatens not only British national security, but also her life.
My thoughts:
If you have been following along my blog, you will have noticed that I have been reading and reviewing all the books in this series. When I was given the chance to participate in this blog tour, I started reading this book and quickly caught on to the fact that I was missing a lot of information. This book begins right where the second book leaves off and if you haven’t read the others in this series, it can be quite confusing. So in order to adequately review this book, I decided that I had to read its predecessors. I’m really glad that I did, because I discover a new series that I enjoy. Ursula’s character is somewhat not the norm for the time that the books are set in. She flouts society and doesn’t seem to care so much when she is the subject of scandal and scorn. She is definitely a character that I enjoy because she is so different.
This book started right off with a bang. I love books that within the first couple of pages, something is afoot. This was definitely one of those books. This book also has treason, espionage and action in droves. I found it to be wonderfully fast pasted and intriguing. I will say that this book is a complete different book from the first book in the series and the author has really taken this series to the next level. The only problem that I had with this book was that I figured things out a little earlier than I would have liked. I love a surprise and I love to be shocked. I didn’t get that with this one as I figured out who was behind everything quite early on. Nevertheless, this book still was a fun and action packed read that kept me flying through the pages.
If you haven’t read this series, it is a wonderfully written historical mystery that has characters the reader comes to enjoy spending time with. I really liked the little surprise the author gave the reader at the end and I cannot wait to see how things turn out for Ursula and Lord Wrotham. This book was definitely a pivotal installment in this series and I am curious to see what happens next. If you are interested in this series, I highly recommend that you begin at book one and work your way through the series. I have a feeling that if you start with this book, you might be lost as I was and you really won’t get the whole effect of the series if you start in the middle. Nevertheless, this book was a wonderful edition to an emerging historical mystery series that I will be keeping my eye on.
Overall Rating: 4
Title: Unlikely Traitors
Author: Clare Langley-Hawthorne
Series: Ursula Marlow Mystery #3
Publisher: Open Road Distribution
Publication Date: July 8, 2014
Pages: 262
Genre: Historical Mystery
Get It: Amazon; Barnes & Noble
About the Author:
As a child of British parents, Clare Langley-Hawthorne grew up in Australia with a strong sense of history. Her mother was a history teacher and her father was an economics professor. Her parents instilled in her a love of art, history, and literature. She dreamed of being a writer but instead studied law at the University of Melbourne in Australia. She went on to practice commercial law before switching careers and moving to the United States in 1995. She obtained Master’s degrees in economics and international trade law and subsequently worked as an economist in the health care industry. But the dream of being a writer never died. She published articles on both law and economics and soon realized that what she really wanted to do was pursue her life-long dream of becoming a fiction writer. The opportunity arose when she took time off to pursue a PhD only to discover she was pregnant with twins. She now lives in Denver, Colorado with her twin sons and collie. In her spare time she enjoys painting, completing the New York Times crossword and indulging in her love of English literature.
This has been a stop in the ‘Unlikely Traitors’ book tour presented by Great Escapes Books Tours. Make sure you check out the other stops on the tour as some are offering giveaways!
September 15, 2014–Shelley’s Book Case
September 16, 2014–Turner’s Antics
September 17, 2014–Kelly P’s Blog
September 18, 2014–Brooke Blogs
September 19, 2014–A Blue Million Books
September 20, 2014–readalot
September 21, 2014–Girl Lost In a Book
September 22, 2014–Cozy Up With Kathy
September 23, 2014–3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy & Sissy, Too!
September 24, 2014–Latte’ Da!
Disclaimer: This book was given to me by the publisher, through Great Escapes Book Tours, in exchange for my honest review. I reviewed this book without compensation of any kind. All thoughts and opinions are solely mine.
Girl Lost In a Book 
I have to read this series!! Thank you for being part of this tour!
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Would love to read…patucker54 at aol dot com
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This sounds intriguing. Thanks for the review and give away.libbydodd at comcast dot net
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I'm so thrilled you discovered my Ursula series. Thanks for hosting and I look forward to reading your reviews (I've already checked out some of your other historical mystery reviews and now I have some recommendations to add to my t-b-r pile!)
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I bought the second book in this series about a year ago, not knowing it was part of a series. Now after reading your reviews I want to get the others and read them all in order.
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This novel fascinates me for the era, the locale and the story and plot which is interesting, captivating and memorable.Thanks for this great giveaway.saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com
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I enjoy reading mystery series, so this definitely falls under that category!!!thank you for the giveaway……
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I haven't read any of the Ursula Marlow Mysteries, but after reading your review I think I'd like to do so. I'm not usually a fan of 'series' books where one needs to read them in order — so often I have a hard time finding the 'next one', or didn't get the first one to get started. But your description of Ursula as being unusual for her time has intrigued me.
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