tl;dr
A sweet and pleasant historical romance mixed with an increasingly threatening mystery make for another satisfying installment in the Dread Penny Society series.

About
Something foul is afoot, and it's up to author Brogan Donnelly to find out who's behind it. Sent on a secretive mission by an even more secretive society, he gets a job at a local print shop to spy on the owner and his potentially illegal activities. But when Brogan finds himself immediately smitten by the shop owner's daughter, his espionage mission might prove more difficult than expected. Especially because she might have secrets of her own.

Thoughts
Secret identity romances are always fun, even more so when it turns out both participants have secrets. Brogan is a man with his heart on his sleeve, but a dark past. Vera's history is shrouded in mystery, even to herself. The two of them hit it off almost immediately in a rather drama-free manner that feels very natural. The romantic portions of the novel are pleasant, and generally pretty sweet. The big secret reveal definitely hurts, but both characters are mature enough that the drama part doesn't drag on too long before they sort things out. The mystery portion raised the stakes a good deal from the previous two installments, and carried the greater half of the book. I found it interesting, although some of the reveals at the end didn't entirely unfold in an organic manner. The book ends well, with enough open for the next installment, which I am very much looking forward to.

As with the other books in the series, two separate "penny dreadful" stories are woven in: one written by Mr. King that acts as a foil for the main plot; and the other written by the featured Dreadful that gives the reader a small bonus insight into the character. I typically prefer Mr. King's installments, but Brogan's story had a much stronger ending in this case, and I really liked the atmosphere it evoked.

Readers can enjoy this book as a standalone, but the first two books (especially the second one) definitely add context to some of the supporting cast.