Daughter of the Game

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: Exciting historical fiction
Review: In 1819 London, a Spaniard abducts Colin, the son of aristocratic Melanie and Charles Fraser. The obvious motives are either ransom as Charles is a well to do grandson of a duke or political reasons because he is a parliamentary reformist. However, they learn that the lead kidnapper wants neither. Instead he believes that Charles and Melanie from their recent activities on the Peninsular against Napoleon know the location of the Carevalo Ring, an item supposedly containing power to protect its bearer while its symbolism will gain supporters.

The Frasers' search for their son leads them to actress Helen Trevennen. However, she seems to be one step ahead of her pursuers. As they give chase, Charles is stunned to learn that Melanie was a French spy even while he the same exact job for the English. As he struggles to accept her revelation, he knows he must concentrate on the task to rescue Colin, an innocent pawn in this cold game.

Though the twists and turns seem somewhat obvious, the charm of THE DAUGHTER OF THE GAME is the clever way Tracy Grant enables the reader to see the same event through varying perspectives. Relativity depends on one's background and current position. The characters are a delightful group especially the Frasers recoiling from one shock after another yet like the bunny keep on ticking because the goal is the life of their son. The support cast adds depth to the chase, but mostly provides a different viewpoint and a feel for the immediate post Napoleonic decade. Ms. Grant takes the historical fiction fans to enjoyable levels with this wonderful entry.

Harriet Klausner

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.