Published October 25th 2016 by Zebra      ISBN13: 9781420139860

Series: The Knickerbocker Club #2   Rating:  5*

I read the first book in Joanna Shupe’s Knickerbocker Club series and it was so good, I simply had to continue on.  In Book #2 BARON William Sloan is the workaholic railroad baron of the Northeast Railway system.  A railway system he inherited from his father who had no faith in William and thought of him strictly as a loser.   Well this spurred William to prove to himself that he was no loser, if fact having built his railroad to extreme heights he was even ready to enter politics.  Unfortunately, the man he’d chosen as his running mate seemed to be walking a fine edge where his association with a supposedly gifted psychic just might ruin all chances should the public discover the reliance his running mate had placed upon her advice.

Ava Jones has managed to survive and support her three younger siblings in the only way she could by posing as the Russian Madame Zolikoff.  Naturally, she knew she was a con artist but thought of herself mainly as an entertainer and this is exactly what she did – entertained.   She didn’t feel that she was hurting the people who came to her and she was providing that small bit off entertainment. Unfortunately, Bill Sloan, wanted her out of his running mates life, but the more he sparred and threatened her, he realized he wanted her in his life… and his bed!        And that was just the beginning!

Ms.Shupe’s writing kept me glued to this tome and one of my highest praises is that her writing  made it very difficult to lay down.   Her character development involved letting the reader see and feel motivations that kept both William and Ava so real and fluid.  As the author played this story out she brings even more and more characters into play making BARON a truly exceptional and interesting read as she enlightens the reader with some of the fascinating historical events of the Gilded Age period   of New York and the people who influenced and helped shape our nation.

Bottom line:   I am loving this series and BARON featuring William and Ava is one one more reason I fully intend to continue reading all the books in The Knickerbocker Club.

Marilyn Rondeau