HEIRESS FOR HIRE

An unexpected heiress finds love with the nephew of her benefactor as they both investigate the death that brought them together.

After an eccentric duke dies, his family unhappily discovers that his estate has been bequeathed to three unknown ladies in this series opener. Chase Radnor doesn't believe his uncle’s death was an accident. Minerva Hepplewhite, one of the new heiresses, is on his list of suspects. The unanticipated fortune means Minerva can finally start her investigation business, Hepplewhite’s Office of Discreet Inquiries, and she decides to become her own first client. She wants to uncover the truth about the duke’s death and her connection to him before someone goes digging too much into her past and reopens the case of her abusive husband’s murder five years ago. Chase doesn’t trust this woman who keeps showing up in his path, yet he’s captivated by her. Minerva thought her husband forever ruined her appetite for intimacy, but Chase is reawakening long-buried yearnings. They know an alliance is a bad idea, but since they are working on the same case, perhaps they could share some information, and a few kisses, with each other. The romance is a slow burn for the first half as the pair learn to develop trust, though their banter is sharp and exciting, and it’s the mysteries surrounding the dead duke and both Minerva's and Chase’s pasts that propel the plot forward more than the romance. Unfortunately, the anticlimactic resolutions of these mysteries undermine the satisfying relationship at the end.

Fun but ultimately underwhelming.