Not much to say here - fans of Ms. Quick (of which I am one) will find a lot of comforting familiarity in this ostensible end of the Vanza series. The Vanza lore matters little in this book - which is actually good as I disliked the mix between orientalist and weirdly supernatural (?) fantasy that the other books had.

This book works pretty much like a straight mystery with a strong dollop of romance. For people who read Ms. Quick romantic suspense books will know the story beats here. The mystery is fairly simple and the romance is between a sassy heroine (who is “modern”) and a taciturn but competent hero who “learns to love”.

I will say that the heroine does say the following:

“.... it would be best if you and I were to put our connection on a businesslike footing...”