A day in the life with Elizabeth Miles by Victoria Thompson

When you make your living conning people out of their money, you have to expect good days and bad days. Today was one of the bad ones. A really bad one, in fact. It all started when my partner, Jake, made a stupid mistake and the mark we were working realized he’d been cheated. The mark had his two goons beat Jake up and then sent them after me. I didn’t stand a chance, but luckily, I remembered those women who were marching in front of the White House, which was only a few blocks from the hotel where we were staying. I figured I could blend in with them and the goons wouldn’t dare bother me. And it worked. I got away from them.

But out of the frying pan and into the fire, as somebody once said. Those women were marching to get the vote, which seems like a waste of time to me, and they’d made President Wilson so mad he was having them arrested. A night or two in jail was fine with me, since I’d be safe there, but this time the demonstrators got sentenced to three months of hard labor at a workhouse! This was not at all what I’d had in mind.

They shipped us to Virginia and threw us in jail. Literally. They hit us and dragged us and tossed us into the cells. It was so awful, this night will become known as the Night of Terror. So here I am, in a filthy workhouse with a bunch of crazy females who think they can convince men to let them vote. To make matters even worse, the food is awful, rancid and full of maggots, so now they’re talking about going on a hunger strike.

As if all of this weren’t bad enough, Oscar Thornton (the mark) and his goons know exactly where I am, and they’re working to get all of us released because they still want to kill me.

You’re probably wondering how I’ll get out of this. I don’t know yet, but I’m sure I’ll figure out something. That’s what grifters do.

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You can read more about Elizabeth in City of Lies, the first book in the NEW “Counterfeit Lady” mystery series.

Every woman plays a part — but some are more dangerous than others. . .

Like most women, Elizabeth Miles assumes many roles; unlike most, hers have made her a woman on the run. Living on the edge of society, Eliz uses her wiles (and wits) to make a living from the ill-gotten gains of so-called respectable men. But brutal and greedy entrepreneur Oscar Thornton has lost a great deal of money and is not going to forgive a woman for outwitting him. He’s out for blood. With his thugs hot on her trail, Elizabeth seizes the moment to blend in with a group of women with an agenda of their own. Even when they’re arrested, she still counts herself lucky; after all, jail is the safest place she could be.

She never expects to like or understand these privileged women, but she soon comes to respect them and realizes that there may be more to life than chasing other people’s fortunes. As Elizabeth forms an unlikely bond with the matriarch of the group and realizes her son Gabriel is the rarest of species, an honest man in a dishonest world, her new life begins to take shape. But Oscar Thornton hasn’t forgotten her and is biding his time in this gilded orbit, waiting to strike. Will Elizabeth’s new life be cut short by this vicious shadow from her past?

“Don’t miss City of Lies, an exciting story of intrigue, deception and love”
–Catherine Coulter
Author of Insidious

“Suffragists, socialites, grifters, and goons at the last gasp of the Gilded Age. This is how to start a series! Thompson brings an irresistible heroine onstage, backs her up with a terrific cast of sidekicks, and delivers a rattling good plot. There’s rich thread of US history skillfully woven in too. I loved it.”
–Catriona McPherson
bestselling author of the multi-award-winning Dandy Gilver series.

“Completely captivating! Clever, engaging and romantic, this unlikely suffragette will have you cheering her courage–and eagerly awaiting her next adventure. Loved it.”
–Hank Phillippi Ryan
Agatha, Anthony and Mary Higgins Clark award wining author

“Victoria Thompson gives us a fresh new series with clever Elizabeth Miles, a con artist on the run. City of Lies is the real deal, a genuinely different series. Buy this book. You’ll love it — and that’s no lie.”
— Elaine Viets
author of Fire and Ashes, an Angela Richman, Death Investigator mystery

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Giveaway: Leave a comment below for your chance to win a print copy of City of Lies. U.S. entries only, please. The giveaway ends November 8, 2017. Good luck everyone!

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About the author
Edgar® and Agatha Nominated author Victoria Thompson writes the Gaslight Mystery Series, set in turn-of-the-century New York City and featuring midwife Sarah Brandt. Her latest, Murder in the Bowery, was a May 2017 release. City of Lies is the first book in her new Counterfeit Lady series, a November 2017 release from Berkley. She also contributed to the award winning writing textbook Many Genres/One Craft. Victoria teaches in the Seton Hill University master’s program in writing popular fiction. She lives in Illinois with her husband and a very spoiled little dog. Find out more at www.victoriathompson.com.

All comments are welcomed.