Children of the Shadows by Erica Vetsch: Book Review

 *Book received for consideration. All thoughts are my own.

Detective Daniel Swann and debutante Juliette Thorndike once again team up to solve a dangerous mystery--while trying to keep their growing romance secret.

Someone is preying upon the street children of Regency London. They seem to think no one will notice when urchins go missing--and even if they are noticed, who will care?

Daniel needs to do something about the missing children. But with recent revelations about his past and an unexpected, somewhat unwelcome inheritance to deal with, this is a terrible time to dive back into the seedy underbelly of the crime world. Nevertheless, he's still a Bow Street runner, and his partner Lady Juliette is sensitive to the plight of these wayward youngsters. They're on the case, searching shadowed alleys and coal-drenched streets to find the missing.

But the tangle of expectation and the dynamics of power cannot be easily ignored, even if there are children in danger. When Daniel's past threatens to overwhelm his future, he will need a miracle and the help of his friends to both apprehend the villain and unravel his tangled family web. And it may be that his new responsibilities demand that he leave the children of the shadows to their terrible fate--or lose everything.

Erica Vetsch's popular Regency mystery series concludes with a bang, sure to satisfy readers who have hung on every page since book one.

Erica Vetsch is a New York Times best-selling author and ACFW Carol Award winner, and has been a Romantic Times top pick for her previous books. She loves Jesus, history, romance, and watching sports. This transplanted Kansan now makes her home in Rochester, Minnesota. Learn more about Erica at www.ericavetsch.com.

Children of the Shadows is the third and final book in the Thorndike & Swann Regency Mysteries series. I had not personally read the previous books and I found I was able to understand and enjoy the story as a standalone. 

To be honest, Regency books are really hit and miss for me and as such not ones that I reach for often. This one, however, drew me in pretty quickly! It had a really great blend of romance and a great mystery. Dealing with children going missing, it certainly wasn't the most lighthearted of reads, but it was beautifully written and kept me invested from start to finish. There was a lot going on in the story--- the missing children, a question of inheritance and of course, the romance... but everything was balanced really well and didn't leave me feeling overwhelmed or confused. If you enjoy a good Regency mystery, this is one not to be missed!