A Sensible Arrangement

3.5 stars.
This was an odd type of book. It starts with a bang and then goes into a society where Marty has to adjust to life as a rich banker's wife. Except he's not so rich in his own right, but because of his work in the bank. And there are hinky things going on with the bank, which may easily have been the reason the Alice, Marty's maid, ended up scarred, orphaned, and destitute.

I lost stars because, while the characters were well sketched and realistic, they didn't jump off the page and grab me. And I personally like it when the suspense element is played up a trifle more in a novel/series that has a recurring villain. But Marty and Jake's relationship is satisfying to watch grow, and I definitely felt like Marty grew on me in the story as she tried to do the right thing despite her own wishes. Even though she fought it, she knew what she ought to do. There is only one holdout of her willfulness...left to be dealt with in the next book...