The Viscount and the Thief is the newest book by Emma Orchid. The book starts off introducing us to the main characters several years in the past and then jumps into the future. Sophie Delavallois has been hired as a ladies companion to the Dowager Marchioness. She resides in the Wyverne mansion, where all sorts of “interesting” behaviors go on. However nothing is as it seems. Sophie is there to steal jewels from the family including her own treasured diamond. Lord Drake (the son) is not the reprobate the tonne thinks he is, but his father and stepmother are some of the most awful people. All sorts of depraved and unexpected behaviors happen in the mansion and Sophie somehow has to navigate them and steal the jewels. Meanwhile Lord Drake is entranced by Sophie and determined to figure out what her true role is. He is waiting for the day, he has clear titles to the property to take care of his grandmother and clear the garbage out of the mansion.
The novel has several twists and turns. We have different people masquerading as others. We have liars and cheats all over the place and we have Sophie, a woman hardened by her past determined to claim her future.
There were places in the novel where I was less than happy with the direction of the novel, but I couldn’t seem to stop reading it. I did not enjoy it as much as the prior novel I read by Emma Orchid, but I didn’t dislike it enough to not want to read more of her novels. The book is interesting, has twists and more twists, has a good ending and enough sex and intrigue to keep the reader entertained. The Viscount and the Thief by Emma Orchid is a good read.
