A Perilous Plan (2021)

About the Book

Book: A Perilous Plan

Author: Melanie Dickerson

Release Date: September 28, 2021

Genre: Christian Fiction, Historical Romance

Penelope Hammond finds herself a widow at the age of twenty-three, having been married five years to a man she barely knew. Her husband, David Hammond, Lord Hampstead, was a member of the House of Lords who rarely said more than a few words to her in a week’s time–and often did not come home at night.

But Lord Hampstead was from a wealthy, powerful London family with no enemies, so why was he murdered?

Penelope is a penniless widow with few friends and only her cold grandmother to lean on. When she finds herself pursued by both English officials and French spies, she doesn’t know who to trust—until a handsome Member of Parliament, Henry Gilchrist, saves her from being attacked and kidnapped. Mr. Gilchrist seems so determined to help her, but can she trust him?

Henry Gilchrist seems to know more about her husband than she does–that he was unfaithful to her with a young Frenchwoman who Penelope thought was her friend, that his gambling problem had sunk him deeply in debt, and that he had stolen some very important plans that could put the entire country in danger. And now both the French and the English governments think she knows where these plans are.

Penelope had no idea that her husband stole secret plans and intended to sell to the French, but no one seems to believe her, except Henry Gilchrist. When she starts to fall in love with the handsome young Member of the House of Commons, will he be too imbittered from a former lost love to accept his own growing feelings? But first they must save themselves from those who would do them harm, or there will be no future for them, either together or apart.

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My Thoughts

This past week, I was totally in the mood for an action-packed, sweet, historical romance, and A Perilous Plan by Melanie Dickerson delivered! I liked the premise for this novel from the moment I read the back cover. I felt like it would be a unique read: a young widow solving the murder of her husband and saving England in the process — too cool! At its core, A Perilous Plan is Penelope’s journey from a cowed, long-suffering, mentally and emotionally abused wife to a courageous, strong, take-care-of-herself heroine. Like all journeys there are some setbacks, but ultimately, Penelope comes out the other side of this story a healed, independent woman who knows what she wants out of her life. I could relate to her #1 weakness: caving to the needs and wants of everyone else in order to keep the peace and make others happy. I love that over the course of this story, Penelope learns the value of saying, “NO!” I also love that she doesn’t need a man to save her. She adores Henry for riding in on his noble steed and saving the day, but she doesn’t need him to. As much as this is Penelope’s journey to independence, it is also Henry’s journey to breaking down the walls around his heart. I love the relationship that builds between Henry and Penelope. Their initial meeting eventually leads to a deep friendship and that leads to love — the real kind of love. The love based on wanting what’s best for each other. In addition to all of this, I really enjoyed the pacing of the story, and I found the storyline to be highly engaging. I definitely did not want to put this book down. Because of this I am very much looking forward to reading the next two books in the series. All in all, A Perilous Plan is an excellent read, one I highly recommend!

I checked out a copy of this novel in eBook form from Amazon.com via my Kindle Unlimited Subscription on March 24, 2022, in order to review. In no way has this influenced my review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.