The Undercover Scoundrel (The Hope Diamond Trilogy)
In 1812, Henry Lake, agent for the Crown, returns to England in pursuit of the French Blue, a jewel he’s been hunting for 10 years. Crossing paths with an old acquaintance and recent widow, Lady Caroline Osborne, the two are thrust headlong into a series of eventful occurrences culminating in a plot to catch a spy. The non-stop action is interspersed with the couple’s steamy love scenes as they chase the famous diamond, which pops up and disappears, with equal alacrity, a number of times.
The classification of historical romance really doesn’t do this book justice, because it’s so much more! At times quite serious, at others witty and playful, it occasionally reads like an absurd 19th-century farce. But this lends itself extremely well to the storyline. The heroine is a klutz who regularly trips over her skirts, Henry sports a limp and an eye patch and his sidekick has a propensity for dressing up as a woman. This action-packed adventure will enchant romance readers who are looking for something with an out-of-the-ordinary twist.
