Mogul

Since her father’s death, Lily Davies has been acting as president of the Davies Mining Company, mostly until she can hand over the reins to her younger brother Tom. But Tom has mysteriously disappeared, and not even the Pinkerton detectives have been able to locate him. Lily knows there’s only one man who can find Tom, newspaper MOGUL Calvin Cabot. I have loved this series from the first book, and I was very much looking forward to Calvin’s story. While we didn’t know much about him, I found him quite intriguing. And I had thought that the previous book, BARON, was the best! MOGUL is exciting beyond belief and so very sexy as well! Ms. Shupe gives us yet another look at 1889 New York City. The plot is absolutely fabulous, multilayered, and filled with twists and turns. Calvin and Lily share a very complicated history, and Tom’s disappearance stirs a hornet’s nest that has repercussions on several people’s lives. Joanna Shupe’s research is thorough and exemplary, and the appalling Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 plays a huge part in the story. If the author’s Victorian-age America shines in all its glory – and squalor – the characters steal the show. Lily is a formidable woman: she is fearless and reckless; Calvin is loyal, ruthless, and sometimes unscrupulous, and sometimes he lets secrets rule his personal life. Calvin and Lily share an immeasurable passion, that all but consumes them, but Lily remains the level-headed one. And dear readers, whip out your fans, because those sex scenes are incredibly steamy. I still marvel at how realistic Joanna Shupe has kept her world during the whole series; how genuine each character is, and again we see how difficult it was for a career woman. I also very much appreciated the melting pot angle in MOGUL, as Hugo – Calvin’s friend and glorified valet – is a freed slave, and some Chinese characters play pivotal parts. MOGUL is utterly captivating from beginning to end, it can also easily be read as a standalone even though characters from the previous books appear briefly. MOGUL is the cherry on the sundae that is the fabulous The Knickerbocker Club series! I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book.

Moved fast, sweet love story.