Veena’s review of The Smuggler Wore Silk (A Spy in the Ton, Book 1) by Alyssa Alexander
Regency Romance published by Berkley 07 Jan 14
There are many books written about titled gentlemen who use their positions to spy for their country. In at least a few that I’ve read, they find their comeuppance while chasing down traitors amongst the smugglers operating on the coast in Devon or Cornwall. In The Smuggler Wore Silk, Alyssa Alexander takes the bones of what came before and paints it in her own unique style and color to make this theme new and different.
Julian Travers has been unmasked as a British spy, thanks to the information that is flowing between the smugglers operating up and down the Devon coast. Armed with a single name, he posts down to his seat, which he left at a very young age, determined to protect his other friends from exposure and possibly to find a way to continue his adrenaline-filled role at the home office.
Imagine to his surprise that the first person he encounters upon his return is Grace Hannah, who’s cooking in his kitchen with his old retainers who manage his property. Bristling with suspicion, ready to put her down, he quickly sets to unmask her as a traitor and discredit the information that has been passing through her band of smugglers. No fuss, no muss quite quickly done, but then we all know life rarely is that simple, and pretty soon everything gets complicated.
If Grace is innocent, then who’s the traitor is the question that Julian finds himself asking. As he chases down clues and investigates his neighbors, he finds himself suspecting first one, then the other, or perhaps a group of them. It’s definitely not cut and dried and you’ll find yourself taking on his and Hannah’s emotions as you try to judge guilt and innocence.
The story is further enriched by the fact that Julian had a traumatic childhood and has returned to the home where he grew up and his country seat for the first time since leaving it as a child. In addition to finding the traitor, Julian also has to heal all his childhood demons and forgive himself for his transgressions before he can move forward in his life. Can Grace help him forgive her and himself for a happily ever after?
The richness and maturity of the prose in this story doesn’t make it feel like a debut novel. If this is Alyssa Alexander’s first book, then I am definitely looking forward to her future works.
Grade:B
Summary:
After he is betrayed by one of his own, British spy Julian Travers, Earl of Langford, refuses to retire without a fight, vowing to find the traitor. But when the trail leads to his childhood home, Julian is forced to return to a place he swore he’d never see again, and meet a woman who may be his quarry—in more ways than one.
Though she may appear a poor young woman dependant on charity, Grace Hannah’s private life is far more interesting. By night, she finds friendship and freedom as a member of a smuggling ring. But when the handsome Julian arrives, she finds her façade slipping, and she is soon compromised, as well as intrigued.
As she and Julian continue the hunt, Grace finds herself falling in love with the man behind the spy. Yet Julian’s past holds a dark secret. And when he must make a choice between love and espionage, that secret may tear them apart.
No excerpt available.
Other books in this series:
In Bed with a Spy – Fall 2014
