Michelle Griep's novella collection "Ladies of Intrigue"

Three page-turning novellas of 19th-century: can truth and love prevail when no one is as they appear?

The Gentleman Smuggler's Lady: I don't know what it is about rogues--the Robin Hood-type highwaymen, smugglers, pirates, and the like, but when one of these non-law-abiding men just so happens to be a gentleman (with an honorable moral code), they can be terribly difficult to resist. Isaac Seaton is a perfect example of it. I'm not convinced that proposals and funerals go hand-in-hand, but the story was entertaining and by far the most deserving of the "intrigue" of the title.

The Doctor's Woman: Having studied a fair amount of Minnesota history, I was excited to see a story about the Dakota War of 1862, or rather, the aftermath. It was a war that never should have happened--it easily could have been prevented, had the US fulfilled its ends of the treaties--and there were atrocities committed on both sides, but the worst of which being the revenge the US took against the Dakota, innocents and all.

I don't think the novella does justice to the tragedy of 1,600 people--mostly women, children, and elderly--pushed together into a river-bottom concentration camp over the course of a Minnesota winter, where several hundred died of disease in those few months alone. But it is a nice story of a doctor and a woman with the heart of a doctor working together to help ALL those in their care, not just the ones popular opinion would have them help. No actual mystery to this story.

House of Secrets: Joseph Blake wins above even the rogue for my favorite hero of the collection. He's charming, honorable, and passionate, and he doesn't take life too seriously, except where it matters. There is intrigue to this story as well, as Joseph is trying to take down a brothel while hiding his involvement in getting prostitutes out of the business.

I prefer Griep's full-length fiction to the novellas, where there is more room to flesh out the story and world, but these do convey her masterful use of language. The title isn't the most fitting I've seen regarding novella collections, but the stories are all entertaining.

Thank you Barbour and NetGalley for the complimentary e-book. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions are my own.