A Deceptive Bargain

By: Laura Beers

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Length: 12 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

Hiding from the horrors of her past, Miss Martha Haskett is content living her days serving as a lady's maid to her friend Eliza, the Marchioness of Lansdowne. But then her father, the new Earl of Waterford, shows up, with the shocking news that she is now a titled lady. Further turning her life upside down, he proposes a bargain. She will have a single Season in London, and if she does not marry by the end of the Season, she will be gifted with her dowry and a small estate. Despite her mistrust of her father, Martha accepts his offer, but can’t seem to let go of the anger that has been festering inside of her, or her discomfort with a position in Society where she feels she does not belong.

Dr. Emmett Maddix is tired of the frivolity of the ton and spends his time atoning for his past sins by providing medical care to the poor. His life takes an unexpected turn when he is recruited to be an agent of the Crown. He is assigned to run a charity hospital as a front to collect information about a vicious band of smugglers known as The Cursed Lot, who have managed to overtake the entire town of Gravesend with a reign of murder and oppression.

As Emmett delves further into The Cursed Lot’s domain, he quickly discovers that not everything is what it seems, and it will take far more than one new agent to take down this ruthless gang. While the tangled web of intrigue begins to unravel, Martha and Emmett battle an undeniable but unspoken attraction that grows between them. But before either can be ready to share their hearts, they must overcome their past mistakes, and find their own reasons to keep fighting. With more than just their hearts at stake, surviving the mission will be more difficult than either of them could ever imagine.


As the fifth novel in this series by author Laura Beers, this story continues The Beckett Files series. This is a sweet spy series set in the Regency period.

The series includes:

Saving Shadow
A Peculiar Courtship
To Love a Spy
A Tangled Ruse
A Deceptive Bargain
The Baron's Daughter
The Unfortunate Debutante

Other books by Laura Beers include the Regency Brides: A Promise of Love, Sweet Regency Matchmakers and the Regency Spies & Secrets.

Very good addition to the series

This book is best if it is read in order. I think it can be read solo but it's better when you because you are already familiar with the supporting characters and some of the background story. The characters in this book struggle with PTSD and it relates what they have to do to endure each day and how the support of friends and family help them to confront their demons. I will say that the villain of this story while being absolutely despicable is flat as far as villains go. It's super easy to hate the villain, but I find the best villains are sometimes a little relatable (like Darth Vader). At this point in the series, I'm used to the AI voice. It's not the best, but I don't find it distracting. It's better when sped up to 1.1x.

Beautiful healing and love

I loved that the story had romance, tense moments, healing and love. Artificial voice can not pronounce correctly bow street, modeste and agape.