Gabrielle Darcy and her brother Gerard must escape France on the brink of war. A dying English spy gives Gabrielle a message for The Man in the Green Coat, who turns out to be Mr. Everett.
Though Gabrielle and Everett are attracted, they are also suspicious of each other. Once again Everett aids the Darcys and Madame Aurore, only to find them all embroiled in adventure.
Carola Dunn is the author of more than 30 Regency romances, as well as 16 mysteries (the Daisy Dalrymple mystery series is set in England in the 1920s). Ms. Dunn was born and grew up in England, where she got a B.A. in Russian and French from Manchester University. She travelled as far as Fiji before returning to settle in California. After 30 years in the US, she says she still sounds as if she arrived a month ago.
Prior to writing, Ms. Dunn’s various jobs included market research, child-care, construction--from foundation trenches to roofing--and writing definitions for a dictionary of science and technology. She wrote her first novel in 1979, a Regency which she sold to Warner Books.
Now living in Eugene, Oregon, Ms. Dunn has a son in California who has just made her a grandmother, and a large black dog named Willow who takes her for a walk by the Willamette River each morning. (www.belgravehouse.com)
This was quite a fun read! I enjoyed this book with a sassy female, set during the Reign of Terror, chock full of spies and misunderstandings. It was quite a treat, and I am looking forward to reading more from this author to see if she continues to deliver.
Gabrielle & Gerard avoid the French police. Gaby is directed to the man in the green coat (Fletcher) by a dying spy. In England Gaby & Luke, the mysterious Aurora, Dorothea & Alain, Gerard & Sophie connect in a thrilling, twisting look into spies & espionage.
Rather frustrating when the hero continues to suspect the heroine of being a spy despite loads of evidence to the contrary, right up until the end of the book. (And for a spy-adjacent story, there was not enough espionage!)
Great fun. Adventure, suspense, romance, history, and mystery. A strong and smart female mc who keeps going no matter the setbacks. Violence, no sex, mild language.
is the basis of this traditional Regency novel, which includes some perhaps unlikely, but explainable coincidences, as well as adventure and engaging characters.
Dunn blends espionage, secrets, shots, threats, without explicit passion, gore. English siblings Gabrielle, Gerard, flee to London, helped by spy Luke. Mixup of sweethearts and parents clears up. Typo 6.7 heir IS her
Gabrielle and her brother Gerard is in Switzerland awaiting the return of their father wich has been gone for some time on an undisclosed buisness.
Before he left he told them that if he didnt arrive back in a fixed amount of time they were to go to England and meet up with an old family friend,Madame Aurore.
On their traveling Gabrielle happens on a dying man who begs her to deliver a very important message to someone called "The Man in the Green Coat" This leads to the siblings being pursued and shot at.
When they arrive in England Gabrielle has been hurt and the siblings have to beg help from an inn where they are assisted by a certain Mr Everett.
They continue their acquitaince when they arrive in London and Gabrielle and Mr Everett hit it right off,even introducing her to his family.
and then some other things happen...
I did enjoy some of the hero and heroines conversation but was annoyed that the hero couldnt decide if Gabrielle in reality was a spy.
I found myself skimming a lot of the book,cause frankly some of it was pretty boring and felt like filler,so that might have something do with me feeling confused throughout the book.
Done right a spy plot can be good,but its not a plotline I prefer so that played a large part.
In the end the secret of their fathers identity is revealed and it was anticlimactic at best. Like that was it?
I felt that there was too much going on at the same time and that certain characters werent developed properly.This includes the hero and heroine.
With their housekeeper dead and their father still missing, twins Gabrielle and Gerard decide to escape revolutionary France (where they are distrusted for their lack of Republican sentiment) to England. Gabrielle disguises herself as a boy (and has a difficult time riding astride--a refreshing change from the usual "la, I am so free spirited and ride horses as I please!" heroine bs) and they flee, dodging French soldiers along the way. While hiding in a barn, Gabrielle stumbles across a dying English spy, who gives her a message for "the Man in the Green Coat."
In England, Gabrielle passes on the message to the MitGC, who turns out to be handsome, high-handed Mr. Everett. Their attraction deepens over the course of the novel, but French espionage and the mystery of Gabrielle's parentage keep them apart.
The last few chapters are a bit annoying--everyone is related to everyone else! All is revealed in infodump form! Huzzah! That aside, it's a fun, well-written Regency romp.
I have enjoyed all of Carola Dunn’s regency books I have read so far. They are a nice, quick, easy read and they have a Jane Austen feel to them. Each book is different enough from the others to feel fresh and her enjoyable writing style is consistent.