I love a good con novel. Although City of Fortune is Victoria Thompson’s sixth Counterfeit Lady novel, you don’t have to have read previous ones to catch up quickly with the characters. The plot itself stands alone. But, it’s the three main characters, Elizabeth Miles Bates, her husband, Gideon, and her mother-in-law, Mother Bates, who are all just delightful.

Gideon is a lawyer, and one of his clients, Sebastian Nolan, owns racehorses, so he invites Gideon and Elizabeth to be his guest in his owner’s box at Belmont when Sir Barton is running in 1919. That’s where the couple meets Mr. Nolan’s daughter, Irene. Irene is as knowledgeable about horses as any man, and all week she thought there was something wrong with one of their horses, Trench. Trench stops running in the middle of his race, and the jockey has what is probably a career-ending injury. It’s only at the hospital that Elizabeth realizes Irene actually loves the man, but her father wants her to marry into society. He certainly doesn’t want her to marry some jockey.

Someone sabotaged the race, and Mr. Nolan and Irene both seem certain who paid for that. Although Elizabeth has tried to give up her previous life as a con artist, there are times she desperately wants to help someone. Irene and her jockey, Cal Regan, deserve happiness, and Elizabeth easily enlists her mother-in-law to her plans. Because Elizabeth comes from a family of con artists, she’s sure her father knows the perfect woman to enlist to promote her scheme. Together, they hope to make enough money that Irene can live independently from her father. Elizabeth wants her to have a happily-ever-after ending.

There’s twist after twist in this entertaining mystery. And, Mother Bates hosts the most amusing dinner party I’ve ever read about, with a number of grifters in attendance, as well as the people they’re trying to scam. It “Seemed like a normal dinner party as long as everyone pretended to believe what everyone else said.” Poor Gideon. At times he made me laugh. He’s so straitlaced, and won’t lie, but he also loves his wife and mother, so he has a difficult time telling the truth without giving anything away. And, in the end, it’s Gideon who has a major part in the biggest con of all.

Delightful. If you’re looking for a fun con novel, don’t hesitate to pick up City of Fortune. It really doesn’t matter if you haven’t read other books in the series.

Victoria Thompson’s website is http://www.victoriathompson.com/

City of Fortune by Victoria Thompson. Berkley Prime Crime, 2022. ISBN 9780593440575 (hardcover), 320p.

FTC Full Disclosure – I read a galley for a review for a journal.