An Innocent Masquerade

The Dilhorne Dynasty #3

by Paula Marshall

After losing his beloved wife in childbirth, Thomas Dilhorne is a man inconsolable. Worried that his son will never recover from his grief, Thomas's father sends him to Melbourne to do a little business and try to enjoy himself. But an attack by robbers turns the Dilhorne heir into a man who can remember neither his name nor his past.

Kirstie Moore can hardly believe it when her father brings home a mysterious vagrant! Fred Waring might have duped her father into believing he was a decent sort, but Kirstie has her suspicions. Soon "Fred" proves he's a good worker and works his charms on the Moore family, including beautiful Kirstie. But will she still love him when she discovers his true identity?

Genres: Historical, Romance

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Paula was born in Leicester and grew up in Nottingham. After finishing school, she was employed as a research librarian, and studied for her library examinations after work.

Paula has three children, and when the third started school, she returned to work, beginning a new career as a part-time lecturer in English and general studies. After four years of teaching, it became necessary for her to gain a degree, and Paula did just that. She enrolled in the open university and spent the next four years earning a first class honors BA in history.

Reviews

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 to 4 stars. I enjoyed this third book in the series, although perhaps not quite as much as I enjoyed Book 2 (A Strange Likeness).

This one was about Thomas Dilhorne, twin of Alan (from Book 2), and son of Tom and Hester from Book 1 (Hester Waring's Marriage.) It's set in the 1850s on the wild and rambunctious goldfields of Ballarat in Victoria, Australia. As an Australian, I'm familiar with the area and something of its history. This certainly added to my enjoyment of the book, although I'm not sure whether the book would appeal as much to readers from other countries. Maybe?

For me, the book felt realistic in many aspects, and the picture of the rugged life on the goldfields felt quite convincing. The basic trope was amnesia of the main male character, Thomas, after being bashed, robbed and left for dead on the streets of Melbourne. It took most of the book for Thomas to regain his memory and identity completely. This aspect of the book also felt believable, although I'm no expert on brain injury and memory loss. Not a trope I normally like in my HR reads, but in this case, Thomas (or Fred as he was known) was sweet and funny and very likeable, and it worked as a storyline.

The romance with Kirstie was quite a slow burn, and did not draw me in as much as I wanted it to. I guess Thomas/Fred's issues from his past made it hard for him to move on with Kirstie, and this held the romance back. Still, I did enjoy the story.

A side character featured in the book was an entertainer, Rosie, who clearly represented the famous Lola Montez, who did indeed make her mark on the Ballarat Goldfields in the 1850s. Sadly, Montez died in 1861 of syphilis, so if the fictional Thomas/Fred really did have an affair with her, he may have gone that way too. Eek! Thanks heavens for fiction. LOL.

One disappointment in the book was that we never find out about Geordie Farquhar's history, or what became of him after the events of the book. I liked Geordie's character and wish a little more had been revealed about him.

So, a good read that I whipped through quite quickly. I now intend to read the other books in the series.