Saturday, July 29, 2017

A Sojourn in Italy as a Spy for the Queen

Georgiana Rannoch is eager to marry Darcy, but being in line to the British throne, if only thirty-fifth, she must have permission to renounce her claim so the marriage can proceed. With Darcy off on another mission, Georgiana is not sure how to accomplish this. She also wants to help her friend, Belinda, who is in Italy expecting a baby.

Unexpectedly, the queen comes to her rescue. The Prince of Wales and Mrs. Simpson are attending a house party in Italy not far from where Belinda is staying. Worried that Mrs. Simpson may have obtained her divorce and push the Prince to marry her, the queen wants a spy at the party. Georgiana is a school friend of the hostess so being invited to the party is easy, and in return, the queen will push to get Georgiana permission to marry Darcy.

The house party starts well, but Georgiana’s mother arrives, the house is filled with Nazi sympathizers, and one of the guests is murdered. With so much happening, the party becomes dangerous for Georgiana who is only eager to help Belinda.

I enjoyed this book. Georgiana is a delightful character. She does make rather clumsy moves, but it all works in the end. I keep hoping she and Darcy will eventually get together. It seems quite cruel to have so many obstacles in their path to matrimony.

The plot is clever and full of twists. It is fairly easy to guess the culprit, but it’s not obvious until near the end. The setting in an Italian villa on a beautiful lake is well done. It’s a place I’d love to visit, and the period details are correct.


I highly recommend this book if you enjoy historical suspense.

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