Saturday, March 8, 2008

A Foreign Affair-Caro Peacock

A Foreign Affair
Caro Peacock
Avon, Apr 2008, $13.95
ISBN: 9780061445897

In 1837, Liberty Lane travels from England to visit her father in France. However, upon her arrival in Paris, she learns her dad died in a duel over a woman. She rejects the prevalent theory because her father would never fight a duel. Liberty vows to learn the truth, but her inquiries are cut short when two "investigators" try to kidnap her.

Pledging to her later father not to give up until the truth is known, Liberty flees back to England to regroup. Home Office secret agents ask her to go undercover as a governess at Mandeville Hall as they believe her father’s death and a seditious plot to kill the newly crowned young queen are tied together with Sir Herbert Mandeville at the center of treason.

This early Victorian espionage thriller with gothic overtones hooks the audience once Liberty makes up her mind to learn the truth as she knows her father would never try to kill anyone. The story line is fast-paced from the onset as Liberty makes friends (not all human) while adversaries want her dead. With Mandeville Hall being a perfect dangerous gothic setting, fans will relish Liberty’s first account of spying for her country and for her late father.

Harriet Klausner

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