An Unsuitable Heir

By: K.J. Charles

Narrated by: Matthew Lloyd Davies

Length: 7 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's Summary

A private detective finds passion, danger, and the love of a lifetime when he hunts down a lost earl in Victorian London.

On the trail of an aristocrat's secret son, enquiry agent Mark Braglewicz finds his quarry in a music hall, performing as a trapeze artist with his twin sister. Graceful, beautiful, elusive, and strong, Pen Starling is like nobody Mark's ever met - and everything he's ever wanted. But the long-haired acrobat has an earldom and a fortune to claim.

Pen doesn't want to live as any sort of man, least of all a nobleman. The thought of being wealthy, titled, and always in the public eye is horrifying. He likes his life now - his days on the trapeze, his nights with Mark. And he won't be pushed into taking a title that would destroy his soul.

But there's a killer stalking London's foggy streets, and more lives than just Pen's are at risk. Mark decides he must force the reluctant heir from music hall to manor house, to save Pen's neck. Betrayed by the one man he thought he could trust, Pen never wants to see his lover again. But when the killer comes after him, Pen must find a way to forgive - or he might not live long enough for Mark to make amends.

Don't miss any of the captivating Sins of the Cities novels:

• An Unseen Attraction
• An Unnatural Vice
• An Unsuitable Heir

And look for the enticing Society of Gentlemen series by KJ Charles:

• The Ruin of Gabriel Ashleigh
• A Fashionable Indulgence
• A Seditious Affair
• A Gentleman's Position

©2017 K. J. Charles (P)2017 Audible, Inc.

Critic Reviews

"I'll read anything KJ Charles writes!" ( New York Times best-selling author Kate Pearce)

"KJ Charles has long been one of my favorite authors." ( USA Today best-selling author Carole Mortimer)

What a climax!

My FAVORITE of the series! What a range of characters we’ve seen in these books. The MCs in this one blew me away, especially since they appeared in a historical romance!

Pen is a gender fluid trapeze artist. Mark is a pansexual man of inquiry. Mark sees Pen and he’s mesmerized. Pen sees Mark and is dubious of his seemingly honest attraction to and acceptance of him. I LOVED these two together, delighted in how they navigated understanding each others’ sexuality and creating trust. Only to have it purposefully destroyed.

That’s right, stuff happens and it’s not all good. People get hurt. It’s not all perfect, love and roses forever (well, OK, until the HEA).

This is the finale of a mystery that began two books ago. I’m usually pretty adept at figuring out whodunit. But here, I didn’t have a clue. Not at all. Zero. This both delighted and frustrated me to no end. Well done there, K.J. Charles, well done!

Pen is the likely heir to an earldom. He doesn’t want it. At all. But people are dying because of him. What to do? Read it and find out.

And if you’re hankering for an audiobook, the performance for this one was incredible!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Series ends on a high note

The final installment of the Sins of the City gives interesting characters, a nice narration and resolution of the mystery in KJ Charles' inimitable style. There is instant attraction between trapeze artist Pen and private investigator Mark that shows how gender fluidity can be beautiful. Pen struggles with being misunderstood and opens up to Mark's compassionate understanding. However, an unwanted title forces Pen to play the gentleman and violence follows in his wake. The mystery begun in the first book has a satisfying conclusion. You also get to catch up with Clem, Rowley, Nathaniel and Justin from the first two books of the series which is fun. The whole series is narrated by Matthew Lloyd Davis who does a fine job in character voice and development. I am beyond thrilled KJ Charles is getting turned into audibles and hope more of her books get the attention they deserve.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Love IS Love!

This was my favorite book in the series! I had no idea how the crimes were going to be solved, or how things were going to work out for Mark and Pen, but it all came together so well! I'm sure everyone had their own ideas of "whodunit" like I did, but I was second guessing myself up until the very end, and I still got it wrong. Bravo to Ms. Charles for a well thought out, well plotted storyline.
I didn't expect all the emotions I'd feel in this book. To be honest, I never read the blurb for this one- I knew it was Mark's story, but I didn't know what was coming when it came to Pen's character.
I'm not well versed at all in the trans/non-binary world so I'm not going to even try to delve into those aspects of the story for fear of offending someone, but I felt so much for Pen and all he was having to deal with- wanting to live life on his own terms, and scared of not being able to if he had to take his position in the family he never knew.
I didn't think there was any way that Ms. Charles could make it so that Pen could live a happy life, one where he didn't have to hide who he was, but I really liked how everything worked out for all involved.

Matthew Lloyd Davis was a fantastic narrator. I'm not sure I would have enjoyed these stories as much as I did if I had read them instead of listened- he really brought these stories to life.



***Borrowed through the RP.

Explosive finale to a wonderful trilogy

So much excitement! I loved every minute of this trilogy and I was glad to see the resolution of the mystery and the murders. Once again, KJ Charles brings on the gold, with the marvelous Pen Starling, and the excellent way the author makes diversity such an important part of the writing. The love story was quite organic and romantic, and the intimate scenes gave me chills. Compliments to the actor for making the voices so distinctive. Great historical.

Loved it the 2nd tie around, the audio is gripping

the narration was great, all the accents really bring London to life with full tecnicolor, the smells and sounds. all the books in the series are expertly narrated by Matthew Lloyd Davies and I am now enjoying more of his works for other authors as well.

This book was just amazing!!!The plot is exciting, suspenseful and the mystery delightfully intriguing until the end in a Who-done-it fashion. Pan and Greta are trapeze artists, twins, making a life for themselves in London and always sticking together. when Pan is approached by a man claiming to be a private investigator with important information about him he does not want to hear it. The painful past can not be avoided though, and Pan, Greta and Mark must navigate the mystery surrounding their birth and the Fogman, a killer set out to prevent Pan from claiming his alleged birthright as hair to an earldom. All the while Pan, who does not want anything to do with it and be left alone is struggling with gender dysphoria, that can only be elevated by living the life of a circus performer where he can chance his outer appearance to match his shifting internal gender.

I was not expecting it to deal with such modern themes as gender dysphoria and fluid gender identity, cis gender verses trans. And this is the biggest joy I had at reading this book, it managed to enfold in itself the concept of pansexuality and gender dysphoria so well, in a turn of the century setting where these concepts where so far away from human understanding. The characters of Pan and Mark were so delicately built throughout the book, and were as unique as I have ever seen in the MM genre. I was so entranced with them, Pan's ever shifting gender was described in an emotional, realistic, touching and extremely fascinating manner. I loved the he and Mark got together and how Mark accepts Pan in an effortless natural way. His almost reverent endearments and sensitivity to Pan's shifting needs and limits regarding his body are a wonder to read. it was that part of the story the drew me in, and I was so happy to see that there was not too much angst in the book like the time period may suggest could happen. The writing is gripping, period appropriate and lovely. I wish there was more of it to read, if I could just have their daily life in an ongoing book to read I would be the happiest woman in the world.

It is a wonderful ending to an amazing series, I loved haveing the gang there, Clem, Rowly, Nathaniel and so on, they are so divers! It's amazing!

great ending to a great series

A thoroughly satisfying ending to a great series. I had figured out "whodunnit" before it was revealed, but that didn't take away from the enjoyment.

I would recommend this series to everyone who enjoys historical mysteries and gothic novels.

Very enjoyable!

I highly enjoyed the conclusion to this series. I was on the edge of my seat and could not figure out how it could end happily for Pen. A very satisfying ending. I loved Matthew Lloyd Davies' narration as always!

He wanted to be a Queen, not an Earl.

The main character (Pen) is a transvestite male who is in a constant identity crisis. The whole thing was rather a "drag". (pun intended) In the story, Pen does not want to become the next Earl as he will have to act straight, so he ends up being a Queen.............a drama Queen. The cockney accents in all three books of this trilogy were thicker than molasses and didn't fit some of the chracters. This authors first two books of this trilogy were much better.

0 of 1 people found this review helpful