Review: Foul Lady Fortune
Available at Bookshop.org
4/5
For fans of: 1930s Shanghai, enemies-to-lovers, murder mystery, political espionage, spies, assassins, crime noir
The Big Questions:
What genre is this in? Historical fiction, mystery
Are there any swoon-worthy characters? Rosalind, our immortal assassin and Orion, her reluctant partner with secrets of his own
Is it spicy? Nope, but lots of pining
Is it violent or gory? There are some solid action sequences, but nothing gory
Should I buy, borrow, or pass on this book? If you are a fan of the original series, These Violent Delights, BUY IT!
“I’ve seen what love does. It’s powerful. It’s selfish. It will draw us away from the battlefield, and we can’t allow that.”
Synopsis: It’s 1931 in Shanghai, and the stage is set for a new decade of intrigue.
Four years ago, Rosalind Lang was brought back from the brink of death, but the strange experiment that saved her also stopped her from sleeping and aging—and allows her to heal from any wound. In short, Rosalind cannot die. Now, desperate for redemption from her traitorous past, she uses her abilities as an assassin for her country.
Code name: Fortune.
But when the Japanese Imperial Army begins its invasion march, Rosalind’s mission pivots. A series of murders is causing unrest in Shanghai, and the Japanese are under suspicion. Rosalind’s new orders are to infiltrate foreign society and identify the culprits behind the terror plot before more of her people are killed.
To reduce suspicion, however, she must pose as the wife of another Nationalist spy, Orion Hong, and though Rosalind finds Orion’s cavalier attitude and playboy demeanor infuriating, she is willing to work with him for the greater good. But Orion has an agenda of his own, and Rosalind has secrets that she wants to keep buried. As they both attempt to unravel the conspiracy, the two spies soon find that there are deeper and more horrifying layers to this mystery than they ever imagined.
“What is family for if not to love us and then break our hearts?”
Review: I didn’t realize how much I missed the gorgeous mess that was pre-imperial Shanghai, until I stepped back onto its the humid, intoxicating streets with the now immortal Rosalind, Juliet’s unfortunate cousin, in need of redemption. I had a blast with this adventure as Rosalind and Orion try to solve the mystery of their mission as well as each other. By the end, I felt the need to create a chart of who was loyal to which faction, who was a spy/double spy/triple spy, and who was secretly who. There are so many aliases, so many players, so many factions, and everyone has their own agenda. It was dizzying, but thankfully I have just enough brain cells to hold on for the ride.
The slow burn romances were EXQUISITELY filled with tension and will-they-won’t-they-risk-it-all. All of this with the backdrop of the eve of Japan’s invasion of China and a civil war between Communists and Nationalists. I had so much fun and I can’t wait to read the short stories in Last Violent Call to tide me over until the final book, Foul Heart Huntsman, releases later this autumn.