Maecenas

The Duchess Report #3

by Estelle Ryan

mae·ce·nas
noun /mē-sē′nəs, mĭ-/
A generous patron, especially of literature or art

Bree Reuben has faced many adversities in her life as a transgender woman and in her career as an investigative journalist. Yet, never has an investigation brought this much danger to her doorstep.

When her brother vanishes without a trace, Bree's desperate search leads her into a world of unimaginable power and corruption. Each clue pulls her deeper into a conspiracy that reaches the highest echelons of authority, where those in control have the means to shatter lives and erase anyone who threatens their grip.

Now, Bree must fight to maintain her journalistic integrity and her own safety as she unravels the truth about Duchess. Because it seems that this person isn’t just powerful, they're ruthless, and they'll stop at nothing to keep their secrets buried – even if it means making Bree and anyone close to her disappear forever.

307 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 10, 2025

About the author

Estelle Ryan was born in South Africa and spent her childhood being surrounded by African beauty, nature and diversity of cultures. Her first trip to Europe at the tender age of 16 transformed her world into a much larger place, endless in its possibilities and places to explore. For most of her adulthood she’s travelled all over the world, lived on a few continents, explored numerous cultures and still is insatiable in the quest to still the hunger for more life experiences.

She’s written for numerous international magazines, was the editor of a European lifestyle magazine and has seven romance novels published under a pseudonym. With her interest in international politics, arts, crime, behavioural psychology, criminal psychology and music, she decided to combine all these elements in her writing. And so Genevieve and the team came into being.

She is an unabashed coffeeshopaholic. Good coffee, ambience and music in the perfect combination is all that is required to turn a mundane coffee shop into her 'office'. The appropriate coffee shop is chosen depending on the mood, the weather, the type and amount of work that needs to be done, and of course the craving of the day. All of her books have been written in numerous coffee shops all over the world.

Reviews

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This final book of the series ties up all the ends left loose from the first two in a satisfying conclusion. Once again, for me, the main attraction is real people, empathetically drawn, with protagonists you can genuinely admire. There's a lot of humor and love shown without it getting too mushy and eye-roll inducing. Despicable bad guys definitely get there comeuppance. And, honestly, with all the fiction about secret evil organizations, I appreciate the idea of a secret organization for good with moral, upstanding people who have mad skills.

Start with Samaritan and Sentinel -- guarantee you'll have a real hard time figuring out what's going on if you've not read those two first. For me, it had been a few months since book 2 and I was disappointed to find the series did not feature the 'series plot summary' offered for some kindle books. Still, I pretty quickly was able to get back into the world of Bree & Co. I admit I didn't understand all the details of the conclusions they were drawing but I didn't feel completely lost. And was more than satisfied with the results.

[Rhea Morrigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maecenas (The Duchess Report Book 3) is a triumphant return to richly detailed storytelling. The author is back to using more lush descriptions, and I’m absolutely loving it—each scene feels immersive and vibrant, drawing you deeper into the world and the characters’ emotional journeys. The plot is engaging, the character development is top-notch (as always!), and the evocative writing style makes this book a standout in the series. Highly recommended!

[Alisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

More, more, more

This series is so good that im hoping there are going to be many more books to follow. Bree, David, and the rest of the crew are well developed and the storyline is engaging.

[Sara Ponder · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit disappinting

I've read all of the books published by
Estelle Ryan. I was disapointed in the editing of this book, it didn't live up to her typical standard. There were many typos and gramatical errors that distracted the reader.

[Laurin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too many ccharacters. Story was to convoluted and I never e r felt connect.

[Ezra Ingram · Rating 5 out of 5]

great end to the trilogy

Estelle Ryan is an amazing author she pulls you into a story do you need to know how it ends. Or the next one starts.