A street-smart former swindler and a justice-minded police inspector. Oh, the turbulent relationship Kit and Jackson have! Kit and Jackson argued a lot in this story. When they try to make amends, they argue some more. But, to their credit, they try again to make things right ... with a bit more arguing thrown in. I can see how they have their differences, but I was secretly (or not so secretly) hoping for a bit more romance and a bit less fighting. Of course, they make up in the end, and that's beautiful and good.

Michelle Griep knows how to turn a phrase! I never cease to enjoy her witty writing style, believable characters, and on-point descriptions. For example, take this witty gem: "A roly-poly sergeant advanced, the brass buttons of his uniform straining to remain in their assigned holes. The man was a walking weapon, in danger of putting someone's eye out should one of those buttons pop loose." 😂

The Bride of Blackfriar's Lane definitely had a murder mystery side story to it as well. I wasn't really expecting that, but the male protagonist is a police inspector, so I probably should've seen it coming. The plot had lots of twists and turns, suspense, and some cool moments where Jackson's savvy in questioning a person of interest showed him things based on their body language, nervous gestures, and as much what wasn't said as what was said.

Speaking of savvy, at one point, Jackson pretends to be Kit's brother in order to gain some information. And his cover name is ... (Drum roll, please!) Will Turner. Will Turner! Shall I type it again with more exclamation points? I am tempted to! 😄 ~Insert pic of Will Turner, A.K.A. Orlando Bloom from Pirates of the Caribbean here!~ (Yes, yes, I supposed I could actually do so. Regardless, insert fan girl squeal here!) Did I find an Easter egg? Was this a nod to Pirates of the Caribbean? Or is this all just a happy coincidence? We may never know!

All in all, this was a fun, romantic, murder-mystery-ish read, and I enjoyed it. I found it a little hard to identify with Kit at times, being so different from her, but Jackson was just great. While I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as some of Michelle's other books, that's probably just because murder mysteries aren't really my cup of tea. I give it 3.5 stars. That said, I'd definitely like to read a third book about Kit and Jackson's adventures in Africa, and hope a third book in the Blackfriar's series might be forthcoming.

A complimentary copy of this book was provided by Barbour Publishing through NetGalley. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

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