Book Review: Love in Disguise

Book Review: Love in Disguise

                                                             

My Review

There is fiction dull enough to cure insomnia. And there is fiction that captures your attention with unfolding drama and riveting characters. Love in Disguise by Carol Cox is of the latter. The story begins in Chicago during the late 19th century. Ellie Moore is the wardrobe assistant of the haughty actress Magdalena. But when the leading lady leaves for her new career in Paris, Ellie is left to face the bitter Chicago winters with no job and no family. Help comes when Ellie overhears the workers of detective agency “The Pinkertons”, mention a need for a female operative to go to Arizona and help solve a string of silver thefts; although she has no experience, adventurous Ellie applies for the position and reluctantly the men send her on the case . She quickly established herself in the town of Pickford as an elderly widow named Lavina but when the need arises she transforms into beautiful Jessie Monroe, Lavina’s niece. While on the case Ellie falls in love with handsome mine owner Steven. She must solve the case before the thieves discover her true identity but with her inexperience and heart to contend with, it is much more difficult than she first thought.

I enjoyed this book, though the story lagged as Ellie transitioned from Chicago to life in Pickford; however, once she arrived in Arizona the story takes on a pleasant pace.  The romance between Ellie and Steven is sweet and it is unique in that Steven never directly interacts with Ellie, rather he only sees her as either Lavina or Jessie. He ends up falling for Jessie but in the end it is Ellie who is must love. There were many scenes with Lavina and Steven  together but I did wish he and Jessie could have interacted more, seeing as a romance is nearly impossible with Lavina. Moreover I found the book to be edifying in addition to entertaining even though the author’s approach was to have God work “behind the scenes”.  This allowed the story to take center stage and develop quickly. Still, the reader sees God’s providence in the situations of the characters, even if he is not always mentioned;  faith is an integral part of Steven’s character but Ellie grows into her faith as the book progresses. One scene was especially poignant and showed the development of Ellie and Christ’s relationship. I was impressed with the author’s ability to hold my interest through suspense. Throughout the story I turned the page with bated breath, unsure of Ellie’s fate, her case or her budding romance with Steven. There were times I questioned the plot and how Ellie would pull off her double identity. The author handles it well enough but it felt unrealistic at times. Despite those minor problems this book did exactly what a fiction book should do: it immersed me into a world other than my own, made me laugh and feel all sorts of emotions, made me care for the characters --- it made me eager to read more. I recommend it.

*I recieved a free copy of this book from Bethany House in exchange for my honest review.