The Imposters: Book 1
Publication Date: August 22, 2023
In Edwardian London, not all that glitters is gold as a lady and an intelligence officer’s secret mission take them from the city’s dazzling ballrooms to its covert intelligence offices.
Sir Merritt Livingstone has spent a decade serving the monarch in the field, but when pneumonia lands him behind a desk in the War Office Intelligence Division just as they’re creating a new secret intelligence branch, he’s intent on showing his worth. He suspects an aristocrat of leaking information to Germany as tensions mount between the two countries, but he needs someone to help him prove it, so he turns to The Imposters, Ltd. No one knows who they are, but their results are beyond compare.
Left with an estate on the brink of bankruptcy after their father’s death, Lady Marigold Fairfax and her brother open a private investigation firm for the elite to spy on the elite. Dubbed The Imposters, Ltd., their anonymous group soon becomes the go-to for the crème of society who want answers delivered surreptitiously. But the many secrets Marigold learns about her peers pale in comparison to her shock when she and her brother are hired to investigate her best friend’s father as a potential traitor.
Lady Marigold is determined to discover the truth for her friend’s sake, and she’s more determined still to keep her heart from getting involved with this enigmatic new client . . . who can’t possibly be as noble as he seems.
The cleverly written plot of A Beautiful Disguise by Roseanna M. White is not only intriguing but vastly entertaining with the covert activities of the elite private investigation team of Imposters, Ltd. The story is fast-paced and diabolically cunning, with romance, international intrigue, and even a lion, a monkey, and a few zebras thrown in for good measure.
Lady Marigold Fairfax and her younger brother, Yates, the Earl of Fairfax, had an idyllic childhood, their father indulging every type of entertainment possible for his family. These indulgences, however, left the Fairfax siblings with no funds or income after their father’s demise. In order to provide for themselves, their friends, and the staff closest to them, the private investigation firm of Imposters, Ltd. was born.
The Fairfax brother/sister duo move seamlessly among London society, the anonymity of their identities the best tool in their arsenal. Their skills and adeptness at discovering almost anything about anyone put a premium on their services, which are in high demand.
In spite of his current poor health, Sir Merritt Livingstone finds it impossible to remain behind his assigned desk in the War Office Intelligence office, especially as a new secret intelligence office is in the works. Livingstone knows something is afoot. He fears even possibly at the highest levels, so he must do something.
He seeks the help of Imposters, Ltd., placing him unknowingly in the company of the Imposters themselves as they all travel together as a company to visit the Northumberland area for fresh air and a break from London.
The Imposters seek to unravel what their closest friends’ relationship may be with an overseas plot developed in their own backyard. A dangerous and suspenseful climax shocks everyone when they discover far more than they’d wanted or even dared to suspect. While traversing intrigue at Fairfax Tower, Sir Merritt and Lady Marigold soon realize they’ve been discovering some romantic intrigue of their own.
Roseanna M. White has crafted a delightfully complex tale thick with family loyalty, solidarity with friends, and devotion to everything held dear. From the ballrooms of London society to a flying trapeze where an Earl and a Lady fly high above their daily concerns to help those they love while also serving the greater good.
A Beautiful Disguise is an intricately woven tale of intrigue, whimsy, and the necessity of forging your own path, realizing that when the right people are beside you, being an ‘imposter’ isn’t a bad thing at all. 
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award-winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. She pens her novels beneath her Betsy Ross flag, with her Jane Austen action figure watching over her. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two children, editing and designing, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of numerous novels, ranging from biblical fiction to American-set romances to Edwardian British series. Roseanna lives with her family in West Virginia.
