Set in the early 1900's, Elizabeth Camden's newest novel, A Daring Adventure, is the story of biochemist Rosalind Werner's fight for the use of chlorine to make the drinking water safe for the people of Jersey City. She is a highly motivated young career woman whose past has made her future path clear. Chlorine use has proven itself safe for cattle but has yet to be tested on humans so Nicholas Drake is determined his filtering process is far safer in protecting the residents from a cholera outbreak.While they both have the same ultimate goal, their difference of opinion land them in opposite sides of the courts but neither can deny their attraction to the other.
When I started reading this novel, it didn't take me long to think the story familiar. A little digging on other reviews I have done revealed why. It seems to follow a similar storyline to another of Camden's books, A Dangerous Legacy. The strong females in both stories are pitted against men who have differing viewpoints regarding the water system, just in different cities on the eastern coastline. I enjoyed both stories but, as stated, I found them too similar in nature. In both, the characters are well developed and spunky, particularly the women. I admire that these women took on roles that weren't common for the early 20th c. but I also wonder how accurate the portrayal is. I haven't studied early 20th c. women enough to know but these two certainly don't fit the stereotype. In some ways that stereotype got in the way of making the women believable.
The book seems well researched for historical accuracy and Camden does weave a nice story. I don't believe I will stop selecting her titles but this duplication of plot does discourage me a bit. I did receive this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review and was in no way obligated to write a positive one.
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