The Rogue You Know by Shana Galen

Review of The Rogue You Know by Shana Galen

Susanna did not need to be told how to behave. She had been raised to be a perfectly proper lady. She was the daughter of an earl. She knew what was expected of her. 

 One: She must marry well. 

Two: She must at all times exhibit good ton. 

Three: She must be accomplished, beautiful, fashionable, and witty. 

 The third expectation was daunting indeed. Susanna had spent two decades playing the perfect earl's daughter. She'd had little choice. If she rebelled, even minutely her mother quickly put her back in her place. At the moment Sussana wished her place was anywhere but here. 

 Could no one see she was dying inside?

Lady Susanna Derring needs some breathing room. She'd love to spend an entire evening alone unchaperoned by her overbearing mother and far away from the watchful eyes of the members of the ton. Susanna suspects that her mother may have been in love with another man prior to marrying her father and that the couple may have trysted at the Vauxhall pleasure gardens. How does an Earl's daughter visit the gardens at night and unchaperoned? 

Gideon Harrow is a handsome, charming thief. He's decided to give up stealing and conning people. Gideon needs to score one more big job and he's home free. Gideon steals a diamond and emerald necklace and is barely able to outrun his fellow criminals. Where does a thief go to ground? At another thief's house? 

Shana Galen's The Rogue You Know is the third book in her Covent Garden Cubs series. The novel captures the spirit of the determined Susanna and her hero Gideon, the charming rogue with a heart of gold. The dialogue is fabulous and so cleverly written. Ms. Galen has Gideon and his friends from the Seven Dials section of London speak in "flash ken". By using this dialect the author is able to present the differences between the hero and heroine in an honest and subtle manner. 

Ms. Galen is well known for writing a well paced action story with fabulous characters. The Rogue You Know takes the reader on an unexpected adventure. There are several surprising developments in the story as Susanna and Gideon travel through the dark, seedy streets of the Seven Dials section of London. The couple's adventures on their way to the pleasure gardens add to the novel's suspense and kept me reading past my bedtime. 

Kudos to Shana Galen for an excellent novel filled with suspense, adventure and fabulous characters!

 Reviewed by Susan Gorman 

 ARC provided by Sourcebooks.