The Beauty and the Spy
Avon, October, 2004.
Paperback, 373 pages.
ISBN: 0060543957
Subgenre: Historical
Charlotte Sinclair is a young widow, finally free of the burdensome
restrictions of 1844 British society. Her mourning garb
discarded, she attends a grand ball to get back into the swing of
things. Desperately bored with her life and surroundings and
buoyed by her discovery that her father was a secret spymaster
for England, Charlotte
impulsively follows a mysteriously handsome stranger,
and overhears a conversation that she shouldn't. The handsome
stranger, Nicholas Wright, is actually an undercover spy himself, trying to
make a connection with a notorious traitor. His contact wants
Charlotte killed immediately, so Nick does the only thing he can to
save her life: he kidnaps her. Charlotte decides that adventures
are inconvenient things and that her boring life wasn't really so
bad after all. She also thinks that it's also quite unfortunate that she seems to have
fallen in love with a spy who worked for her father. But whose
side is he working for now?
The Beauty and the Spy is the second book in Gayle Callen's delightful "Spies and Lovers" series. Ms. Callen has a light touch with her writing that is very appealing. She keeps the action moving swiftly, and fills the pages with intrigue. Charlotte, the young widow who had a terrible experience with marriage, is as endearing as she is brave. Those who enjoy adventure and a bit of fun in their historicals are going to love Gayle Callen.
The Beauty and the Spy is available for purchase on Amazon.com
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This review was published in the September-October, 2004 of The Internet Writing Journal.
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