Daughter of the Game

Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: Charles and Mélanie Fraser have life many of their friends envy -- a close, loving relationship, two beautiful children, and a large home in London's Berkeley Square full of devoted servants. Charles, a member of Parliament, the grandson of a duke and a former intelligence officer adores his wife Mélanie who he met while in France during the Napoleonic Wars eight years earlier.

Sadly their idyllic life is about to take a tumble when their six year old son Colin is kidnapped and held for ransom. The man behind the kidnapping seems to believe Charles has the legendary Carevalo Ring in his possession. He wishes it returned to him before he will release young Colin. Charles and Mélanie waste no time in trying to find the ring so that their son will be returned. Thus starts an exciting search through the streets of London -- including the most elaborate estates, a debtors prison, and the seediest taverns, brothels, and gaming halls as well as a trip to Brighton. As Charles and Mélanie continue their search shocking secrets are revealed which leads one to wonder if any of their lives can ever be the same.

Rich and multi-layered, this story is full of startling revelations that will have the reader gasping out loud. The twists and turns nearly give the reader whiplash!! Liberally spiced with bits of history, DAUGHTER OF THE GAME is one of the best books I've read all year. The author is a graduate of Stanford where she studied British history and her knowledge of the history of early 19th Century Britain adds depth and texture to a fabulous read that I dare anyone to put down once they've started. This book is one to cherish and successfully cross genres so appealing to historical readers, historical romance readers, and mystery readers as well. DAUGHTER OF THE GAME is a keeper in every sense of the word.

Rating:
Summary: Hunting the Caravelo Ring
Review: Finally, an adult Regency novel! I always wondered if European life after Napoleon was defeated was really as great as most regency romance novels maintain. Tracy Grant nails that fantasy to the wall with this fast-paced thriller, wherein a married pair of ex-spies chase down a legendary ring to ransom their kidnapped son. The hero & heroine are as ghost-ridden & cynical as any LeCarre characters, & the nasty mess England left in Spain after Napoleon motivates two sets of bad guys. Interwoven with smart dialogue & a real adult love story, this is an engaging read.

Rating:
Summary: Far better than I expected
Review: I don't think the publisher had any idea how to market this book - it's a regency but about a married couple. So it was hardly marketed at all which is a real shame. It's really great fun, dramatic, sweeping, and yes I was definitely surprised by some of the plot twists. Plus, it brought new depth to the question - if you betray the one you love, how can they ever forgive you?

Rating:
Summary: Long read, mildly compelling
Review: I think the first professional review Amazon lists has it dead on in terms of acessing this book. The writing is fairly clunky and the characters are skimmingly drawn (ie. beautiful, but duplicitous; stoic but thoughtful). The writer is in need of a good editor (it's very long for the story it tells) and for a historian, the author's characters speak in a very 21st century manner and behave as such, too. There's something a little Victorian to the book (and, as someone mentioned, Caleb Carr-ish), but nothing really Regency. It's an admirable effort to pen such a tome, and have the discipline, but I'm not really tempted to read the follow-up "prequel" either.

Rating:
Summary: Suspenseful Historical Mystery
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing!
Review: The first sentence ("It was the sort of night that cloaks a multitude of sins.") may be infelicitous, in the "It was a dark and stormy night" tradition. But it WAS that sort of night, and we're transported into that world of sins and darkness. While this book seems to be lumped together with Romance Novels (yuck!), it's actually more a mystery-thriller in the Caleb Carr mode.

Charles and Melanie Fraser are fully-realized characters, subtle and complex. Their actions, revelations, and reactions are convincing and true-to-life within the framework of the plot. While some of the dramatic twists may be predictable, as mentioned in the Editorial Reviews, they are still attention-grabbing and necessary to propel the action. And the action never stops! We're treated to introspection AND adventure, precisely blended, in appetizing helpings. The pace is rapid. Grant has a good touch with flash-back and fast-forward, and with switching from one character to another without being jarring or tedious.

It's not Dickens or Thackeray, but it's not a read-by-number Romance, either. Think of it as a well-told tale that you don't have to write a Theme about!

In sum, I found this a thoroughly meaty Good Read; Melanie, Charles and their children and connections are depicted with such skill that the reader cares about them and what happens to them. I plan to get the second book very soon, and hope I will once more sink my teeth into a satisfyingly guiltless Guilty Pleasure.

Rating:
Summary: The Wait Was Worth It
Review: 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 masterwork

Previous 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.