Secrets of a Lady

An exciting mystery novel. Grant did her homework on the historical background. I did not want to put this book down until I was finished. My joy was I learned her newest book featuring the Frasers came out this spring. I have immediately ordered it. The book gives you plenty of clues to uncover the many twists in the plot.

To my disappointment, this is not a NEW Charles and Melanie Fraser book. It is in fact a re-release of the book "Daughter of the Game." It is a great book in the tradition of Georgette Heyer, with spiced up relationships (though it's no bodice-ripper) and an element of mystery and espionage. If you missed Daughter of the Game when it came out, here's your chance to read it. If you love the Regency Era, and the espionage between England, France, Spain, and Portugal along with the elegant drawing rooms of the British upper crust, as well as superb writing and utterly believable characters that you want to learn even more about, then BUY THIS BOOK! I don't usually buy romances, but Tracy Grant is such a skilled writer that the many threads of the plot - history, mystery, relationships, the spy-game - lift it above a single genre, and make this book one of my favorites. So although I already had it with a different name, I'm thrilled to have another copy, and to visit old friends again.

I loved reading this book- I completely fell in love with the hero and heroine. Grant did an amazing job portraying their changing relationship and there were twists and turns ending every chapter. I didn't want it to end, and I encourage everyone to read it!

Ms. Grant's extensive knowledge of the regency period pays off in this mystery/spy novel with a touch of romance. In the year 1819, Melanie and Charles Fraser return to their London home after a party to learn that their six-year-old son, Colin, has been taken. The Frasers have only days to locate the legendary Carevalo Ring, known for the power it gives the bearer. The Marques de Carevalo will stop at nothing to get the ring back into his family's clutches and believes that it will enable him to seize power from the current Spanish government. But a mission gone awry seven years prior left Charles' military operation without the ring, and he and Melanie must employ their previous knowledge of espionage to locate the missing jewel before time runs out for Colin. To do so, long hidden secrets about their respective pasts must come to light thereby threatening the very force of their marriage. Traveling from crowded gaming halls to bawdy brothels and picturesque Brighton, the pair's endurance is tested as they refuse to give up until the ring is found. Though the read appears slow moving initially, it quickly picks up pace as the players journey to find the next clue to locate the ring. Interspersed is a surprisingly candid interplay between Melanie and Charles as they reveal events of their past long since buried. The depictions of events and places are descriptive enough to pull the reader into the novel without overshadowing the captivating suspense that is the mainstay of this read. A true original, this is one read not to miss.

The hardcover debut of Tracy Grant is all I expected. Her previous books, including those written with her mother, prepared me for the skilled use of historical background material. Her last three paperbacks showed me how clever her plotting could be. This historical suspense is a masterworkPrevious Grant books have been romances with the requisite happily ever afters. While Charles and Melanie seem to have one, the initial actions in this book strip it away in such a manner that it doesn't seem it could be regained.Over a period of three days, the couple search for a particular ring with which they can ransom their son. Grant knows her historical background and it shows. This isn't prettified London and regency England. Much of this story takes place in the layer underneath the pretty. Grant's characterization skills are also exemplary. Her characters aren't simple and the experiences that shaped them aren't easy ones. Her secondary characters are given life too and each of them had untold stories trailing behind them.Because both Charles and Melanie played a part in the later Napoleonic Wars, flashbacks to their actions and experiences also show us the underside of war. The flashbacks are a necessary part of the story and aren't intrusive. At one point Grant's book invites comparison to Carla Kelly's stunning One Good Turn and she doesn't suffer in the comparison. Grant's characters aren't blindly patriotic. Those in the book who worked for the French cause are not portrayed as villains but as reasoning human beings. This is a busy book.There's lots of action and movement. And in the small quiet spaces, Charles and Melanie are reacting to the death of their happily ever after and slowly working towards a new way of living with each other.All the books Tracy Grant has written on her own and with her mother (as Anthea Malcolm and Anna Grant) are on my keeper shelves. This one will join them. At one point in this book, the family name Lescaut is used. This is a name that figures in Tracy's previous books and gives me hope that we may see more from her using this particular world.