Daring Duplicity

I’ll admit: I rolled my eyes at first. *Another* Victorian-era romance with a plucky heroine? But *Daring Duplicity* disarmed me within chapters. Stetson isn’t just ‘unconventional’—she’s a tactical genius who weaponizes society’s misogyny, and Lane’s writing makes her schemes *visceral*. The mystery unfolds like a game of chess where every pawn is a potential traitor, and the romance between Stetson and her love interest (a woman with her own secrets) crackles with the kind of tension that comes from two people who *recognize* each other’s brilliance. That said, the middle act sags slightly under the weight of its own intrigue—there’s a subplot involving a coded ledger that feels more convoluted than clever, and I found myself wishing Lane had trusted her characters’ chemistry to carry the momentum instead of piling on red herrings. Jennifer Lewis’s performance is *exceptional*, but not flawless. Her Stetson is magnetic—equal parts charm and steel—but her male voices occasionally dip into that ‘generic gruff’ register that pulls you out of the moment. Still, her pacing is masterful, especially in the audiobook’s standout scenes: a seduction disguised as a fencing lesson, a confrontation in a fog-choked alley where every whispered word feels like a blade. The production values are top-tier, with ambient sounds that enhance without distracting (I’m a sucker for the way the audio *cools* during outdoor scenes, as if you’re standing in the damp London air yourself). If you love audiobooks that balance brainy intrigue with heart-pounding romance—and narrators who *get* the rhythm of a well-placed pause—this is a gem. Just be prepared to suspend disbelief during the ledger subplot, and maybe crank the speed to 1.2x if the middle lulls for you.