The Incorrigible Sophia (Zebra Regency Romance)

Rating:
Summary: a good second installment in the Sophia Bancroft series
Review: "The Incorrigible Sophia" is the second in the Sophia Bancroft mystery series (the first was "The Impertinent Miss Bancroft). Sophia is now engaged to her employer, the diplomat Lucian, Viscount Northrop, but she's still under his employ as a governess (this is to thwart Sophia's cousin and guardian, Jonathan, who is still trying to stop the upcoming nuptials). Right now however, Sophia is busy trying to 'find' her place in Society as Lucian's fiancee, and squabbling with Lucian as to when their wedding date should be, when murder finds it's way into Sophia's life again!

It looks as if there was a very cunning traitor operating at the Admiralty: papers have gone missing -- more importantly missives that would reveal to Bonaparte that the British know full well that plans to invade England are about to be carried out. With things in such a delicate and precarious state, the Prime Minister, Mr. Pitt, has ordered that the Horse Guards, the Admiralty, the Foreign Office and the War Office to work together in order to figure out who this traitor is and to put a stop to his activities. And even though Lucian and his brother, Andrew, are in the thick of this investigation, it is the murder of a young naval officer that Sophia rather liked, Peter Marston, that propels her into trying to discover who Marston's murderer could be, and so the identity of the traitor. A dangerous undertaking indeed, but Sophia's task becomes even more complicated when she discovers that the authorities suspect Marston of being a traitor himself. Unable to believe that the likable young man could have been doing anything wrong, Sophia decides to investigate in spite of Lucian's disapproval. A task that proves even more difficult when Andrew (Lucian's brother) himself is accused of being Marston's murderer and Sophia's despicable cousin, Jonathan, turns up in London, determined to put an end to Sophia's engagement to Lucian...

I rather liked "The Incorrigible Sophia" -- but not because it was a romance novel par excellence, or because it boasted of a rather intriguing spy subplot, but (mostly) because it dealt with how an engaged couple coped with a few issues in their otherwise smooth-running relationship. For example, Sophia really chafes at Lucian tendency to want to wrap her in cotton-wool and protect her from certain evils in life; while Sophia's stubbornness, independence and tendency to want to investigate every mystery she stumbles across truly alarms Lucian. But instead of having both characters pout and rant at each other, Karla Hocker has opted for the couple to take the high road instead. Both Lucian and Sophia realise that these traits that they find irksome in each other are not about to go away but they also realise that these are the very qualities that made them fall for each other in the first place, and that they'd rather prefer it if neither of them changed who they were in order to please each other. A refreshingly mature and adult view that bodes well (I think) for this couple's happily ever-after ending! Another thing I also liked about this novel was the portrayal of the women in the book. They were ALL (from Sophia onwards) depicted as intelligent and courageous women. Another refreshing change!

Story-wise, while it was fairly easy to figure out who the villain(s) of the piece was/were, the book still make for engrossing reading (there were quite a few plot twists), esp since I was dying to see how Sophia would unravel this Gorgon's knot and resolve everything before the 'official' investigators did. And Sophia and Lucian are so perfect for each other that I couldn't help but root for them to overcome these few tiresome niggles in their relationship. I would, however, advise reading "The Impertinent Miss Bancroft" first so that you really get to appreciate the romance between Lucian and Sophia (and certain things about their engagement and Sophia's past and family background). On the whole, other than to warn that the romance subplot was a little muted this time around, I'd recommend "The Incorrigible Sophia" as a truly enjoyable read.