The Counterfeit Guest: A Novel
Release Date - August 4, 2009
Sequel to: The Blackstone Key: A Novel
Mary Finch was poor now she is rich (due to an unexpected legacy), with money, property and prospects. As a "Lady of Means" she must now adhere to rules of society that are sometimes stifling...and she really longs for Adventure.
Set in a very tense England after the French Revolution and before the Napoleonic Wars, Melikan writes a complex story of intrigue.
At the outset, the plot sometimes stumbles over references to The Blackstone Key: A Novel, Rose Melikan's previous book with these characters. But it settles down shortly and almost rushes to a satisfactory ending with the traitors eliminated, the innocent protected and the lovers united.
Product Description
It is 1797, and Mary Finch, heroine of The Blackstone Key, is now a wealthy heiress. Young ladies in her situation ought to marry well -- as her friend Susannah Armitage has. But is Susannah's marriage to Colonel Crosby-Nash all that it seems? Mary thinks not, and when her suspicions lead to a meeting with the elusive spymaster Cuthbert Shy, he reveals the terrible truth: the colonel is a traitor. At Shy's request, Mary agrees to accompany the Crosby-Nashes to their country estate in order to discover his secrets. It is a perilous assignment, and the danger increases when her only means of communicating with Shy is murderously cut off. If only Mary could contact the redoubtable Captain Robert Holland -- but as he has inexplicably ended their friendship, his help seems out of reach....
