A Ring of Truth (A Henrietta and Inspector Howard Novel Book 2)
Description A Ring of Truth by Michelle Cox
Newly engaged, Clive and Henrietta now begin the difficult task of meeting each other’s family. “Difficult” because Clive has neglected to tell Henrietta that he is in fact the heir to the Howard estate and fortune, and Henrietta has just discovered that her mother has been hiding secrets about her past as well. When Clive brings Henrietta to the family estate to meet his parents, they are less than enthused about his impoverished intended. Left alone in this extravagant new world when Clive returns to the city, Henrietta finds herself more at home with the servants than his family, much to the disapproval of Mrs. Howard—and soon gets caught up in the disappearance of an elderly servant’s ring, not realizing that in doing so she has become part of a bigger, darker plot.
As Clive and Henrietta attempt to discover the truth in the two very different worlds unraveling around them, they both begin to wonder: Are they meant for each other after all?
My Thoughts A Ring of Truth by Michelle Cox
At the end of Book one, Clive proposes to Henrietta and she takes him to meet her family. He knows that she comes from a very poor family but loves her just the same. However, when he meets her mother, you would think he would have second thoughts. Luckily, he does not scare easily.
In ‘A Ring of Truth’ he brings Henrietta to meet his family. He has not told her anything about then but since she knows he works for the police; she assumes he comes from a working-class family. Certainly, a step above her family but not wealthy. Why Clive didn’t prepare her ahead of bringing her to meet his family is anyone’s guess but when the house comes into site from the car, she is shocked. He comes from a very wealthy family.
It seems she is leaping out of the frying pan and in to the fire. She can relate to the servants way more than she can relate to Clive’s parents. She has her doubts, as do Clive parents. However, Clive’s mother decides she can work with her and invites her to stay so they can plan the engagement party and wedding. However, she really wants to shape Henrietta into a proper lady. While staying with the Howards, Henrietta also stumbles into a mystery that she gets caught up in trying to solve.
Wow, this was even better than book one! Watching Henrietta try so hard to fit in with her soon to be in-laws was heart breaking at times. Michelle Cox is so good at creating her character and the new ones introduced in this book are so different from the first. The mystery brings lots of spice and develops Henrietta into a real problem solver. Even though as a woman, she is not taken seriously.
The romance between Clive and Henrietta seems realistic and not forced as in some novels and their fights are just as realistic. I tend to read a lot of historical fiction but not romance and mystery but this series has a fine balance that I can’t seem to get enough! 5 stars!
About Michelle Cox
Michelle Cox is the author of the multiple award-winning Henrietta and Inspector Howard series as well as Novel Notes of Local Lore, a weekly blog dedicated to Chicago’s forgotten residents. She suspects she may have once lived in the 1930s and, having yet to discover a handy time machine lying around, has resorted to writing about the era as a way of getting herself back there. (Her books have been praised by Kirkus, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and many others, so she might be on to something.)
Unbeknownst to most, Cox hoards board games she doesn’t have time to play and is, not surprisingly, addicted to period dramas and big band music. Also, marmalade.
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I can see how awkward it would be to hide one’s heirship to an enormous fortune!