A Bow Street investigator joins forces with a secret agent for the Crown to fight injustice and skullduggery in Regency England. Bad guys and hearts will fall.
Newly returned from finishing school, Lady Juliette Thorndike is ready to debut in London society. Due to her years away, she hasn’t spent much time with her parents, and sees them only as the flighty, dilettante couple the other nobles love. But when they disappear, she discovers she never really knew them at all. They’ve been living double lives as government spies–and they’re only the latest in a long history of espionage that is the family’s legacy.
Now Lady Juliette is determined to continue their work. Mentored by her uncle, she plunges into the dangerous world of spy craft. From the glittering ballrooms of London to the fox hunts, regattas, and soirees of country high society, she must chase down hidden clues, solve the mysterious code her parents left behind, and stay out of danger. All the while, she has to keep her endeavors a secret from her best friend and her suitors–not to mention nosy, irritatingly handsome Bow Street runner Daniel Swann, who suspects her of a daring theft.
When a grist mill explodes in Hammersmith, Bow Street Runner Daniel Swann rushes to help the survivors, only to find that one man did not die from the blast, but rather from a gunshot wound. Daniel must race to find the killer before he loses his mysterious patronage and his job at the Bow Street Magistrate’s Court. The beautiful and fascinating Lady Juliette Thorndike holds valuable insight into the aristocracy that Daniel needs to solve his case.
Lady Juliette comes from a long line of spies for the Crown, and her mentor has instructed her to stay far from the case. Juliette reluctantly obeys until circumstances drop her right into the middle of the deadly pursuit. A second death at the mill, and a near miss on Daniel’s own life, provide information on the murder cases—and links to Daniel’s own secret past. He and Juliette are on a collision course with a killer before time runs out.
Someone is preying upon the street children of Regency London. Unwanted and often overlooked, no one will notice or care if some go missing, will they? Daniel Swann and Lady Juliette Thorndike embark on a dangerous mission to find and rescue the missing children, all while trying to keep their growing romance a secret. Daniel’s past, and a rather unwelcome inheritance demand mean his time at Bow Street must come to an end, but while he’s still an investigator, he will not turn his back on vulnerable children.
But the tangle of expectation and the dynamics of power cannot be easily ignored. When Daniel’s past threatens to overwhelm his future, he will need a miracle and the help Lady Juliette to both apprehend the villain and unravel his tangled family web. Will his new responsibilities mean he must leave the children of the shadows to their terrible fate?
An idle dilletante who is secretly a spy for the Crown and a reformed courtesan collaborate to solve thefts and murders in Regency London, all while trying not to fall in love with each other
The Home Office has asked Sir Bertrand Thorndike to head an investigation into stolen royal jewels. And as with everything concerning the Prince Regent, discretion is paramount.
It’s the perfect chance for Bertie to step out of his brother’s long shadow. Unfortunately, his superior, the Duke of Haverly, has a plan that makes him balk. In order to sell his cover, Bertie must play the part of a man looking for love, ready to reform his rakish ways.
Philippa Cashel escaped a life as one of society’s best-known courtesans and now devotes her time to helping other women in dire straits. Her hope is that laboring hard enough at her charity work will allow her to feel worthy of God’s forgiveness of her past. So when Sir Bertrand Thorndike approaches her about becoming an agent of the Crown, she is skeptical. Why her? She’s focused on getting her school for underprivileged women up and running, not on cloak-and-dagger skullduggery.
But when two of Philippa’s rescued girls become targets, Philippa risks partnering with Bertie to find the loot and stop a killer.
Evil is masquerading in the halls of Parliament, and Sir Bertrand Thorndike is tasked with investigating from the inside. With his new position as a member of the House of Commons, he has access to the power brokers of English government. His tactic is to listen and learn, careful not to reveal his true motives, and he’s quickly inducted into the mysterious Theban Club.
Miss Philippa Cashel’s mission, the Princess Charlotte Eleos School for Women in Need, is thriving with donations, and the students are learning skills to help them earn their livings in honorable ways. But when a dear friend’s past is revealed by blackmail, Philippa must wrestle with the question, Is it ever right to do the wrong thing?
Bertie’s and Philippa’s missions collide when Bertie uncovers a dangerous plot involving vulnerable women. He and Philippa join forces against the corruption threatening to topple England’s government, all while navigating their outward reputations and inward feelings for each other.
Sir Bertrand Thorndike is on another mission-this one in the scientific community. But when a simple game of espionage becomes a murder investigation and Bertie’s friend Rhynwick Davies is the accused, Bertie enlists the help of his pseudo-fiancée Philippa Cashel to spare Rhynwick from the gallows.
Together, they delve into poisons, passions, and peril. With the true killer still on the loose, Bertie must balance proving Rhynwick’s innocence with his plans to persuade Philippa to make their false engagement real.
The final installment in the Of Cloaks & Daggers series from a New York Times best-selling author will be the biggest test yet of Bertie and Philippa’s skill and bravery-and of their love.
