"The Painted Castle" by Kristy Cambron -- Lost Castle, book 3

It was supposed to be a one-week job: survey an art find, collect a hefty fee, and use that to settle historian Kiera Foley’s life back into balance. But from the moment she sets foot in the East Suffolk countryside, the mysteries surrounding the old English manor and the enigmatic art thief who’s employed her stir more questions than answers. Then, Kiera finds the existence of a portrait captivating enough to upend all of her expectations. This one could be a twin—a painting so close in composition to a known masterpiece, it may be rendered priceless if it truly captured the likeness of a young Queen named Victoria. Set in three time periods—the rapid change of Victorian England, the tumultuous skies over England’s eastern shores in WWII, and modern day—The Painted Castle unfolds a legacy of faith, family, and stories that are generations in the making.

For the record--in case you misinterpret the book blurb like I did--Keira is not, in fact, working with a gang of thieves on any kind of heist. It's a legitimate job, being run by an alleged thief. Don't read with the expectation that they're all up to no good, or you'll suffer the confusion I did. It was just mysterious enough that I was able to misinterpret almost everything in the light of anticipated skulduggery, when in actuality, all was aboveboard, and Kiera is an inherently honest person who would never take a less than legal job.

Three storylines in three different time periods (present, 1940's, and 1840's), are woven together around the same English manor house and the same portrait hidden within. I didn't struggle to keep track of the different storylines, as each was fascinating in its own way, but, as  typically happens with multi-timeline books, I wish they all could have been developed more. They aren't actually dependent on each other, so I'd rather have read them as three stand-alone novels (particularly if they'd been expanded to full length) than mixed together as they are.

Amelia's story (1940's) ended up my favorite--it's the sweetest of the stories, the most hopeful, and the best contained within the limited page count. I think Elizabeth's (1840's) would have benefited most from expansion, given its rushed and more complex storyline, but I really loved the time period and subject matter--having seen the BBC Victoria television series, it was a lot of fun to experience this take on Queen Victoria's 'scandalous' portrait.

Winner of the 2020 Christy Award for Best Historical Romance.

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

Lost Castle1. The Lost Castle
2. Castle on the Rise
3. The Painted Castle