Love in Disguise by Carol Cox

"Cox has fleshed out a fascinating cast of characters that move readers through a novel that dispenses romance and wit in the intriguing context of a Wild West mystery. A most delightful and engaging read."

—Publishers Weekly

"Cox does a wonderful job of combining historical details, romance, and suspense. Though Cox’s latest has moments of humor, it will still appeal to fans of Dee Henderson for the suspense aspect."

—Library Journal

Jobless and down to her last dime, former  actress' assistant Ellie Moore hears about a position with the Pinkerton Detective Agency and believes it's the perfect change to put her acting skills and costumes to use. Reluctantly, the agency agrees to give her one assignment, one chance to prove herself. Disguised as Lavinia Stewart, a middle-aged widow, Ellie travels to Arizona to begin her investigation of a series of robberies.

Mine owner Steven Pierce is going to lose his business if her cannot figure out who is stealing his silver shipments. In his wildest dreams, he never expected to receive help from a gray-haired widow...or to fall in love with her beautiful niece.

Then the thieves come after Lavinia and her niece. Ellie is not safe....despite her acting skills. Should she give up and reveal her true identity? Or can she solve the crime before they uncover who she really is....or before they silence her for good?

Love in Disguise by Carol Cox was an excellent and enjoyable novel that was captivatingly full of romance, humor, mystery, and suspense. Set in the 1880's in Arizona, the novel spun a convincing tale of intrigue and  featured everyone's favorite...a female detective/actress. The plot line of this novel was excellently written and flowed well from one scene to the next. The story was perfectly balanced with suspense, unexpected twists, humor, and romance. The tone of the novel fit the time period, and I enjoyed the author's use of description and language.

The characters were also developed well and very enjoyable. I loved Ellie Moore. The author allowed the reader to really experience Ellie's thoughts and her feelings, and sometimes it was hilarious to see what Ellie was thinking. I was also very intrigued by her balancing of all her characters that she was playing and her personality changes for every one. Her character growth was also admirable to see. I liked seeing her turn back to the Bible and to the love of God. I was not as fond of Stephen Pierce as Ellie. He seemed to have little to no faults which made him very static and unrelatable to the reader. I personally liked one of the other Pinkerton agents better than Stephen even though the fellow was only in a couple of chapters.

Overall, I really enjoyed Love in Disguise. The plot was full of twists, humor, and suspense, Ellie was an incredibly interesting character, and the tone and setting fit the novel well. I highly recommend this novel.

I received this novel for free from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for an honest review.