Beneath a Silent Moon
102. Tracy Grant, Beneath a Silent Moon
Charles and Mélanie Fraser appear to be a typical Regency couple moving in the glittering world of London society. However, their shared past is significantly more complex: both of them were involved in espionage during the Napoleonic Wars, and now one of their former contacts desperately needs their help. Their encounter with this man leads to the knowledge that Charles’s childhood friend Honoria Talbot might be in danger from a sinister pro-French organization called the Elsinore League. When Honoria is subsequently murdered at a house party in Scotland, it’s up to the Frasers to capture her killer and possibly to unveil a traitor in their midst.
Having devoured Grant’s previous novel Secrets of a Lady (a.k.a. Daughter of the Game), which also featured the Frasers, I was excited to read this prequel. However, this book isn’t quite what I expected. Given Charles and Mélanie’s involvement with intelligence work, I thought the story would primarily be about political intrigue. Instead, the vast majority of the plot revolves around who is sleeping with whom. Essentially, this book is a Regency soap opera with gasp-inducing twists and turns on virtually every page. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the book - in fact, I found it compulsively readable. The plot is extremely convoluted, though, and in the end I’m not sure that the mystery was wrapped up satisfactorily. Still, I found this novel an extremely compelling read and look forward to reading Grant’s remaining books.