Review: Undercover Duke (Duke Dynasty #4) by Sabrina Jeffries

 

Print Length: 352 pages

Publisher: Zebra (May 25, 2021)

From Goodreads.com:  Along with his stepsiblings, Sheridan Wolfe, Duke of Armitage, is determined to finally solve the mysteries behind the suspicious deaths of their mother’s three husbands. Tasked with investigating a possible suspect, Sheridan finds himself in dangerous proximity to her captivating daughter, Vanessa Pryde. But still haunted by a tragically lost love, the duke is resolved to resist the attraction—and avoid any “scheming” husband-hunters. Besides, lovely Miss Pryde seems utterly smitten with a roguish London playwright...

Vanessa thinks a little scheming may be in order—for it’s Sheridan she truly has her sights, and her heart, set on. Her theatrical flirtation is intended only to break through his business-like demeanor and guarded emotions. And as Sheridan’s jealousy becomes aroused, the two soon find themselves propelled into a scheme of an altogether different kind, involving a pretend engagement, a secret inquiry—and a perhaps not-so-secret leap into true love... 

                                                         *******************

My Rating: 3 stars out of 5

First off let me make it clear that this will most likely be a hard one to understand and enjoy if you haven't read the prior novels. This is mainly due to the fact that the over-reaching story-line that connects all of them has to deal with the murder of the Dowager Duchesses three husbands (and a couple of other people). Each of the prior stories reveals a clue or two about what happened and just who the culprit might have been, those threads coming together in this final novel. 

Because there are two story-lines going on at once I am going to review each separate one before going into my thoughts on this story as a whole. 

The romance aspect of this was decent. While these two were obviously attracted to each other, they didn't immediately jump into bed or take liberties with each other (other than the one time that landed them in hot water). This was something I enjoyed because in the prior novels those characters seemed to barely be able to control themselves so it was fun watching the banter fly between these two. I was a bit turned off at first by the fact that they were both using each other to try and achieve different ends, but that was quickly overshadowed by them actually developing feelings for one another aside from the superficial. 

The whodunnit aspect however? Left a bit to be desired. I enjoyed the way they were able to work through the clues to eliminate certain suspects while at the same time adding others to their pool of probable villains. Where this one fell apart for me was in the way that one certain character suddenly became the obvious choice. And by obvious I mean it got to the point where I was becoming irritated with the characters for not looking into what was literally right in front of them until the book was nearly finished. 

As a whole, this was an enjoyable story. I especially enjoyed seeing the characters from the previous novels and seeing what happened to them once their own happily ever after had been achieved. While I wish certain things had been changed along the way, I do believe this will be a satisfying conclusion for most of the readers of this series. 

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

                                                         *******************

                                
                                                              Undercover Duke is available from Amazon.com