|
[ Home ]
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
THE COUNTERFEIT GUEST is Melikan's second novel featuring heiress Mary Finch. Mary is determined to enjoy her new station in life and content to have put what she calls her Adventure (2008's THE BLACKSTONE KEY) behind her. This is Georgian England, and young ladies in Mary's situation are expected to marry well. When her friend Susannah Armitage marries Colonel Arthur Crosby-Nash, however, Mary begins to suspect that this apparently brilliant marriage is not all it seems. Her reservations are proved correct when Mary meets with the elusive spymaster, Cuthbert Shy, who reveals the terrible truth - while Britain fights a deadly war with France, Colonel Crosby-Nash is a traitor. At Shy's request, Mary agrees to accompany the Crosby-Nashes to their country estate in order to discover his secrets and also to protect Susannah. It's a dangerous assignment, and it becomes even more so when Mary's only means of communicating with Shy is murderously cut off. Her other alternative is to contact her friend Captain Robert Holland - Susannah's beloved cousin - for help, but as Captain Holland has inexplicably ended their friendship, his assistance seems out of reach. Mary Finch is drawn as an intelligent, exceptionally likable, well-educated lady. She is also surrounded by a number of unique - charming and otherwise - characters, like the proper Mrs. Tipton, her mentor and companion, and Miss Marchmont and Miss Trent, the two dainty old schoolmistresses who take up residence at White Ladies, Mary's Suffolk home. Mary's friends, Susannah and her sister Charlotte, are a well-drawn contradiction in terms; Susannah is a sweet and quiet, albeit naïve, young woman, while Charlotte is a lively, outspoken and feisty teenager. While the women in this story are strong and vibrant, they do not in any way overshadow the men. Colonel Crosby-Nash, the traitorous villain, is deliciously unpleasant, and the mysterious Major Whittington is a suitable enigma. Captain Holland is a worthy hero, a lovely gentleman as well as a devoted soldier. The relationship between Mary and Captain Holland is tense with both romance and reluctance, as the two have unmistakable feelings for each other, but Mary's wealth seems a hindrance to Holland's courtship. It did take a bit of reprogramming on my part to get used to the storytelling style in which this book is written - Rose Melikan tells her story from a patently omniscient point of view, jumping from one character's head to another within the same scene. I've read few authors who can do this well, but in this case, the story itself is suspenseful and entertaining enough that the technique became less of a distraction and more of a gripping narrative of espionage, loyalty and danger.
Reviewed by J.B. Thompson, June 2009
[ Top ]
QUICK SEARCH:
Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
[ Home ]
|
