Rannoch Fraser Mysteries

When Intelligence Agent Malcolm Rannoch proposes to Suzanne de Saint-Vallier, the tumult of the Peninsular War recedes-if only temporarily. For their union may have shattering consequences for the more fragile partnership between Britain and Spain. But meanwhile, let the celebrations begin. . . Kensington Publishing Corporation and Author Teresa Grant request the honour of your presence at the marriage of SUZANNE de SAINT-VALLIER to MALCOLM RANNOCH the seventh of December 1812 British Embassy, Lisbon *Intrigue and unforeseen occurrences expected*

A year and a half after entering her unusual marriage of convenience to British attaché and intelligence agent, Malcolm Rannoch, Suzanne Rannoch pays her first visit to her husband's home. England: the country her husband fled for reasons she does not fully understand; the country Suzanne has secretly spent the last five years fighting against as a French spy. The trip takes Suzanne and her husband to the heart of London society-the world Malcolm grew up in. A glamorous labyrinth of unwritten rules and unvoiced codes. Yet the glittering ballrooms of London are not free of the intrigues of the Napoleonic Wars. The search for stolen papers that could tip the international balance of power pits Malcolm and Suzanne against each other. Suzanne faces a stark choice between her loyalty to her cause and her love for the man she married-in order to spy on him.

Nothing is fair in love and war... Europe's elite have gathered at the glittering Congress of Vienna--princes, ambassadors, the Russian tsar--all negotiating the fate of the continent by day and pursuing pleasure by night. Until Princess Tatiana, the most beautiful and talked about woman in Vienna, is found murdered during an ill-timed rendezvous with three of her most powerful conquests... Suzanne Rannoch has tried to ignore rumors that her new husband, Malcolm, has also been tempted by Tatiana. As a protégé of France's Prince Talleyrand and attaché for Britain's Lord Castlereagh, Malcolm sets out to investigate the murder and must enlist Suzanne's special skills and knowledge if he is to succeed. As a complex dance between husband and wife in the search for the truth ensues, no one's secrets are safe, and the future of Europe may hang in the balance...

Amid the treachery of war and the whirl of revelry, no one is what they seem... Nights filled with lavish balls...lush, bucolic afternoons.... Removed to glamorous Brussels in the wake of Napoleon's escape from Elba, Intelligence Agent Malcolm Rannoch and his wife, Suzanne, warily partake in the country's pleasures. But with the Congress of Vienna in chaos and the Duke of Wellington preparing for battle, the festivities are cut short when Malcolm is sent on a perilous mission that unravels a murderous world of espionage... No one knows what the demure and respectable Lady Julia Ashton was doing at the château where Malcolm and a fellow British spy were ambushed. But now her enigmatic life has been ended by an equally mysterious death. And as the conflict with Napoleon marches toward Waterloo, and Brussels surrenders to bedlam, Suzanne and Malcolm will be plunged into the search for the truth-revealing an intricate labyrinth of sinister secrets and betrayal within which no one can be trusted...

From the ashes of war rise the secrets of its darkest hearts… In the wake of the Battle of Waterloo, Paris is a house divided. The triumphant Bourbons flaunt their victory with lavish parties, while Bonapartists seek revenge only to be captured and executed. Amid the turmoil, British attaché and Intelligence Agent Malcolm Rannoch and his wife, Suzanne, discover that his murdered half-sister, Princess Tatiana Kirsanova, may have borne a child-a secret she took to the grave. And Malcolm suspects there was more than mere impropriety behind her silence. As Malcolm and Suzanne begin searching for answers, they learn that the child was just one of many secrets Tatiana had been keeping. The princess was the toast of Paris when she arrived in the glamorous city, flirting her way into the arms of more than a few men-perhaps even those of Napoleon himself-and the father must be among them. But in the melee of the Napoleonic Wars, she was caught up in a deadly game, and now Malcolm and Suzanne must race against time to save the child from a similar fate.

In the fallout of one of history's bloodiest battles, a personal war is waged. . . Paris in 1816 is reeling from the Battle of Waterloo, and relations between the British and French are uneasy at best. So it's hardly a surprise to British attaché and Intelligence Agent Malcolm Rannoch when he and his wife Suzanne, soon to give birth to their second child, become the target of violent threats. Malcolm is certain that the secrets of his past have caught up with him-but he's unaware that Suzanne has more than a few secrets of her own. . . The Rannochs both served as spies throughout the Napoleonic Wars, Malcolm for the British and Suzanne for the Bonapartist French-and both could have left any number of enemies in their wake. But even for two seasoned agents, finding a would-be killer in a country where allegiances are tested and no one can be trusted may prove as impossible as escaping their history. . .

A stolen treasure may hold the secret to a ghastly crime. . . Ensconced in the comfort of their elegant home in London's Berkeley Square, Malcolm and Suzanne Rannoch are no longer subject to the perilous life of intrigue they led during the Napoleonic Wars. Once an Intelligence Agent, Malcolm is now a Member of Parliament, and Suzanne is one of the city's most sought-after hostesses. But a late-night visit from a friend who's been robbed may lure them back into the dangerous world they thought they'd left behind. . . Playwright Simon Tanner had in his possession what may be a lost version of Hamlet, and the thieves were prepared to kill for it. But the Rannochs suspect there's more at stake than a literary gem--for the play may conceal the identity of a Bonapartist spy--along with secrets that could force Malcolm and Suzanne to abandon their newfound peace and confront their own dark past. . .

A Malcolm & Suzanne Rannoch Mystery In the elegant environs of Mayfair, Malcolm and Suzanne Rannoch live a seemingly charmed life. Malcolm, a former diplomatic attaché and intelligence agent, is a rising Member of Parliament. Suzanne is fast becoming one of London's most sought hostesses. But even their closest friends don't know that the Rannoch's marriage is still reeling from the revelation that Suzanne was a French spy when she met British agent Malcolm and that she married him to gather information on British plans. Malcolm and Suzanne are hoping for private time to repair their marriage. But their peace is shattered by a late night visit from a Bow Street runner. The powerful Duke of Trenchard has been found murdered in the study of his St. James's Square house. And Laura Dudley, governess to the Rannoch children, was standing over the dying duke. Malcolm and Suzanne are convinced the woman they trusted with their children is not a killer. To prove Laura's innocence, they are drawn into an investigation that will test their wits and the fragile truce between them. But whether or not she murdered the Duke of Trenchard, Laura Dudley is certainly not what she seemed. Revelations about her identity cut dangerously close to Suzanne's own past. Malcolm and Suzanne realize more is at stake than Laura's life and liberty. The investigation into the Duke of Trenchard's murder will either prove the resilience of their bond–or snap it in two.

For former spies, even entertaining is fraught with danger. In April 1818, the London Season is in full swing, but the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars lingers. Malcolm and Suzanne Rannoch are hosting their first ball since the revelations about Suzanne's past that nearly destroyed their marriage. The Rannochs are just learning to trust each other again. But in the midst of the waltzing and champagne, old friends from the spy game slip in through the window of the Rannochs' Berkeley Square house, bringing a message from Suzanne's past. While their guests dance and flirt, Malcolm and Suzanne confront old dangers and new enemies that could upend their fragile peace.

On a moonlit London night, Suzanne Rannoch slips away from a glittering Mayfair party to assist a wounded man who has escaped Paris one step ahead of Royalist pursuit. In fever-wracked delirium, the man warns Suzanne of a plot to rescue Napoleon Bonaparte-a plot that could bring chaos to Suzanne's world, for though now married to the grandson of a British duke, she was once an agent for Bonaparte…Before she can ask more questions, the mysterious man disappears into the London night. That same evening, Suzanne's husband Malcolm, himself a former spy for Britain, is summoned to the warehouse of a shipping company where a thief has been knifed to death. Beside the body is a secret compartment, but whatever the compartment contained is gone. These two seemingly unconnected incidents prove to be the opening gambit in a deadly game that will test the Rannochs' skill, strain their divided loyalties to Britain and France, and entangle not only fellow agents and spymasters, but their friends and family. The stakes are their security, their marriage, their very lives.

A Malcolm & Suzanne Rannoch Historical Mystery Novella 12 Malcolm and Suzanne Rannoch have fled with their family from fog-drenched England to golden Tuscany as the secrets of Suzanne's past unravel. On their way to their villa on Lake Como, they seek refuge with Suzanne's friend, Hortense Bonaparte, daughter of the Empress Josephine, stepdaughter of Napoleon. The Rannochs arrive at Hortense's elegant château to find Hortense terrified and desperately in need of their services. And so, Suzanne and Malcolm find that even on the run from danger they are not done playing the spy game-or being drawn into intrigues that could affect the future of crowns and countries.

The secrets of Suzanne Rannoch's scandalous past have forced Suzanne and her husband Malcolm- also a spy - to flee London's intrigues and ballrooms. Suzanne fears they will go mad from boredom in their gilded refuge on Lake Como. But before they even reach the villa, they are attacked by bandits who think the Rannoch's possess a mysterious treasure. Are their past deeds catching up with them or were they mistaken for someone else? As they settle in at the lake, they encounter Italian revolutionaries, gun smugglers, an English nobleman living in self-imposed exile with a beautiful contessa, and Lord Byron and Percy and Mary Shelley, who have their own reasons for fleeing Britain. The exquisite beauty of the villas and gardens holds layers of deceit, tied to the very enemies the Rannoch's sought to escape. When a golden afternoon on the lake turns crimson with murder, Malcolm and Suzanne realize that boredom is the least of their concerns…but they may have to fear for their lives and the lives of those closest to them...

A Malcolm & Suzanne Rannoch Historical Mystery 14Former spies Malcolm and Mélanie Suzanne Rannoch have fled Britain with their family to escape the exposure of Suzanne's past as a French agent in the Napoleonic Wars. The news that Malcolm's grandfather, the Duke of Strathdon, is dangerously ill makes them risk a secret voyage to Scotland in the depths of winter. But they arrive at the Rannoch castle on the Highland coast to find that all is not as expected. Dunmykel Castle holds dangerous mysteries beyond the sliding panel in the library, the hidden rooms, and the secret passage to the beach. As snow falls and the holiday season approaches, the Rannochs face smugglers and old enemies, and must race to uncover a deadly secret that could destroy their hard-won escape.

Former spies Malcolm and Mélanie Suzanne Rannoch return to Dunmykel Castle in Scotland in response to a secret summons from Malcolm's grandfather, the Duke of Strathdon. The duke has a plan that will allow the Rannochs to resume their former life in Britain. Malcolm, worried that Mélanie could face treason charges for her past as a French spy, wants nothing more than to take his family safely back to Italy. But when Malcolm's sister Gisèle disappears from Dunmykel, Malcolm instead find himself doing the one thing he didn't want to do-risking a return to London in search of his missing sister. Meanwhile in Scotland, Mélanie uncovers information that connects her own shadowy past with Gisèle's disappearance, which sends Mélanie off on a quest of her own. As they unravel the tangled threads, Malcolm and Mélanie learn Gisèle's disappearance is part of a dangerous game involving two old enemies and the highest reaches of Britain's government. The stakes rise still higher when one of their enemies is arrested for murder. From snowy Scotland to glittering Mayfair drawing rooms and the stews of St. Giles, the Rannochs unearth a conspiracy that could topple kings-and shake their family to the core…"Shimmers like the finest salons in Vienna." -Deborah Crombie"Meticulous, delightful, and full of surprises." -Tasha Alexander"Glittering balls, deadly intrigue, sexual scandals. . .the next best thing to actually being there!"- Lauren Willig

Every spy has a past. But Mélanie Suzanne Rannoch is not prepared to meet her husband Malcolm's past literally walking towards them across a candlelit Mayfair ballroom in the person of brilliant, stunning Katelina Ashford, Malcolm's first love. Nor is she prepared to find that Kitty is a former agent herself, who has come to London seeking Malcolm's help. Mélanie, who misses her own past as a spy, always relishes the intrigue of espionage. But even as Kitty's secret mission unsettles London society, it leaves Mélanie questioning her own assumptions about the man whose name and bed she has shared for seven years. The quest that has brought Kitty to London began in Spain in the tumult of the Napoleonic Wars, but it stretches into some of the Britain's most powerful families. From the gritty bustle of Bow Street to the scandalous grottos of Vauxhall, the Rannochs find themselves involved in a search for a mysterious operative known as the Goshawk, a painting that holds the key to unraveling a long-buried secret history, and a fiendishly clever killer working very much in the present. But even as they try to keep the revelations from overturning vital alliances and smashing the lives of their closest friends, Mélanie and Malcolm discover the greatest danger may be to their own personal alliance.

Glittering chandeliers reveal dark secrets… Former spies and London society favorites Malcolm and Mélanie Suzanne Rannoch are back home, and delighted that their dear friends, Raoul O'Roarke and Laura Tarrington, are finally free to marry. But what should be an occasion for joy is soon/quickly marred by a blackmail attempt. To aid an old friend, the Rannochs must resume a life of espionage and adventure, facing an attack at the London docks and infiltrating a Mayfair ball in disguise to retrieve stolen letters. They soon realize the stolen documents they seek could upend the British government-and the secrets Malcolm and Mélanie uncover hit unexpectedly-and dangerously-close to home…

The Rannoch Fraser Mysteries #18 London, December, 1819. After their recent adventures, former spies Malcolm and Mélanie Rannoch are looking forward to spending a quiet holiday season with friends and family. The greatest danger seems to be Mélanie's scandalous debut in a Christmas pantomime, which has shocked Mayfair's elite. But when an old friend smuggles a fugitive from the Continent into the theatre on opening night, the Rannochs find themselves facing both government agents and a mysterious assassin. As they infiltrate secret meetings, intercept coded documents, and reunite estranged lovers, they quickly realize nothing is quite what it seems. At least, as Mélanie tells her husband, they are spending the holidays with those closest to them-even if they aren't sure they can trust their nearest and dearest...

London, 1820. Britain and Continental Europe teeter on the edge of upheaval, but Mélanie Rannoch tells herself she's left behind the dangers of the spy game and the sometimes equally-perilous intrigues of London society as she prepares for the premiere of her first play. Until her children stumble upon the body of the Hon. Lewis Thornsby in the wings of the Tavistock Theatre. Suddenly, Mélanie and her husband, Malcolm, plunge into an investigation that cuts closer to their former life of espionage than they would have thought possible. Thornsby, a seemingly guileless young man about town, was part of the Levellers, a secret group of reformers whose leader is a friend of the Rannochs. A paper on Thornsby's body hints at a plot to assassinate a member of the royal family. Was Thornsby the would-be assassin or was he killed because he had learned too much? Is the plot genuine or an attempt to entrap and discredit the Levellers? As their investigation takes them from gin-soaked Covent Garden alleys to Mayfair drawing rooms, the Rannochs learn Lewis Thornsby was not at all what he seemed. Whether his death is tied to the assassination, the pretty young actress he was willing to give up his fortune for, or his unexpected links to the Continent, someone was very determined he take his secrets to the grave. And if Mélanie and Malcolm can't uncover those secrets, their fate (along with that of their closest friends and Britain itself) may be in deadly peril.

June 1820. Britain's former prince regent, now George IV, is determined to divorce his estranged wife, Queen Caroline, and the coming trial is the talk of London, from Mayfair to Westminster to Seven Dials, dredging up scandalous details and pitting Whigs against Tories in a battle for power. When former spies Malcolm and Mélanie Rannoch learn their enemies in the mysterious Elsinore League are trying to sell letters that could prove key at the trial, the Rannochs are determined to intercept these vital papers before they can be used against Queen Caroline. The exchange is to take place in the candlelit splendor of Carfax House, at the first ball Malcolm and Mélanie's friends Julien and Kitty are giving in their new roles as Lord and Lady Carfax. But Malcolm and Mélanie aren't the only ones determined to intercept the letters. Amidst a night of champagne and waltzing, Mélanie and Malcolm find themselves entrapped in an intrigue that may be as deadly as any they faced in the Napoleonic Wars...

Autumn 1820. From Mayfair to Covent Garden to Seven Dials, London is in an uproar over George IV's (the former prince regent) attempts to divorce his wife Queen Caroline. And nowhere is the crisis more intense than in Westminster where the royal divorce is playing out in the House of Lords. In this tense atmosphere, former spies Malcolm and Mélanie Rannoch go on an undercover mission in a brothel that leads to a brawl-and the murder of the man they were tracking. The victim, Captain James Blayney, was selling the memoirs of a notorious courtesan, whose lovers may include Napoleon Bonaparte, the Duke of Wellington, and key noblemen involved in the royal divorce trial. The missing memoirs may also hold crucial information about the Elsinore League, the powerful organization the Rannochs have been battling for years. As revelations mount, Malcolm and Mélanie uncover the secrets of some of the most powerful people in Europe. The future of the British monarchy hangs in the balance. But as the Rannochs unravel the clues in the memoirs, they realize that the consequences for the royal family may be nothing compared to the consequences for their own...

A Rannoch Fraser Mysteries novella October 1820. As London simmers over the scandalous royal divorce trial, a pistol shot aimed at the Duke of Wellington's carriage shatters the peace of the autumn night. When Malcolm and Mélanie Rannoch teach, their friend Robby Simcox has been arrested for the crime, they are convinced it is a miscarriage of justice, but it will require all their resources as former spies to uncover the truth. The race against time to save Robby from the gallows takes the Rannochs across the breadth of London, from the slums of St. Giles to elegant Mayfair to lively Covent Garden, and to Wellington's glittering home at Apsley House. But, the culprit proves cleverly elusive. The consequences of their investigation could rip Robby's sister Bet from her aristocratic true love—and may also reveal secrets that threaten all Malcolm and Mélanie hold dear...

In post-Regency London, dynamic former spies Malcolm Rannoch and his elegant wife Mélanie chase devastating secrets tied to the scandalous royal divorce trial. London, October 1820. Queen Caroline's divorce trial makes the House of Lords as crowded as a London ballroom-but far more deadly, as Mélanie discovers when she literally stumbles over a body while threading her way through the crush. More shockingly, she recognizes the victim as her friend Cordelia Davenport's former lover, George Chase, who recently fled England in disgrace. Mélanie is unable to save him but hears him say "Cordelia" with his dying breath. No one knows why George returned to England. But just before he was killed, he was trying to get a message to the prime minister saying he had vital information about the royal divorce. Mélanie and Malcolm plunge into an investigation that could shatter the lives of their closest friends and topple the British government. From hushed Whitehall council rooms to gin-soaked Covent Garden taverns, exclusive St. James's clubs, and Mayfair masquerade balls, they follow a twisting trail of family secrets and royal intrigue. As former spies, they expect the unexpected. But nothing has prepared them for a cascade of revelations that forces them to question everything they know-including their own future.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that the life of a former spy cannot remain quiet for long. London, December 1820. Former spies Malcolm and Mélanie Rannoch are hosting a small party and looking forward to an intrigue-free holiday season when their friend, Thomas Thornsby, turns up dripping wet on the doorstep of their Berkeley Square house. Not only is Thomas clearly overwrought, his arrival is particularly awkward. Thomas is newly betrothed to an heiress. Edith Simmons, the woman he wished to marry - if not for lack of fortune - is one of the Rannochs' guests that evening. But Thomas says he had no one else to turn to. His fiancée, the decorous Marianne Schofield, has vanished without a trace from a Mayfair holiday ball. Always willing to help a friend, the Rannochs don evening attire and join the elegant gathering. Amidst the holiday revelry they find that Thomas's seemingly perfect betrothed has secrets of her own. As they uncover layers of mystery, Mélanie and Malcolm realize some of the plots being hatched beneath the mistletoe may prove deadly.

London, 1821. Former spies Malcolm and Mélanie Rannoch have been friends with Bow Street runner Jeremy Roth since they all met in the intrigues of the Peninsular War. Now settled in London, they frequently collaborate. On a chilly night, an urgent summons from Roth takes Malcolm to a tavern in the slums of Seven Dials. He finds Roth standing over the body of a murdered woman. Malcolm offers his assistance with the case, but Roth says Malcolm must investigate alone. When Malcolm asks why, Roth replies-because this is my wife. Malcolm and Mélanie plunge into the secrets of Roth's estranged wife Allegra. Why did she disappear from England? Where has she been for five years? And why did she return now to the husband she abandoned? Their investigation is a race against time as another Bow Street runner is all too eager to arrest Roth for the murder. And though Malcolm and Mélanie are both convinced Jeremy Roth is not a killer, his story keeps changing. Secrets are nothing new for the Rannochs. But this investigation will force them to question everything they thought they knew about some of those closest to them. And to re-examine the secrets at the heart of their own marriage-before someone else they love falls victim...

Mayfair's latest scandal sets Regency London's former power couple - and spies -- Malcolm and Mélanie Rannoch on a perilous new adventure. London, March 1821. Ralph Allam, a barkeep and thief from London's notorious Seven Dials, finds his world upended when he learns he is the heir to an earldom. But proving his claim to the title is as complicated as any spy mission. Former agents Malcolm and Mélanie Rannoch no longer live their lives at the heart of the beau monde. But neither can resist the call of adventure, and they are determined to help Ralph. To uncover evidence that will support Ralph's claim, the Rannochs go undercover at a musicale hosted by a duchess who rules Mayfair society. London's most talked about composer (as notorious for his scandalous love affairs as for his compositions) is performing a new work at this glittering event, and everyone is vying for invitations. Amid the shimmering candlelight and strains of piano music, Mélanie and Malcolm face old and new enemies. As they uncover secrets and face betrayals, the Rannochs discover proving Ralph's claim to the Ackerley inheritance is a twisted and deadly game.

In dazzling Regency London, married spies Malcolm and Mélanie Rannoch find their most challenging investigation may be uncovering the secrets of the cunning spymaster who shaped both their destinies. Spymaster. Revolutionary. Master of disguise. Raoul O'Roarke remains an enigma even to those closest to him. By the age of three, Malcolm Rannoch knew enough of Raoul's life that he wondered if every goodbye would be their last. Thirty years later, Malcolm, now a spy himself, understands a great deal more, but in many ways, Raoul is still a mystery. Malcolm's wife and fellow agent Mélanie has her own complicated relationship with Raoul, who was once her spymaster. When a contact at a dockside tavern warns the Rannochs that powerful forces want Raoul dead, Malcolm and Mélanie are shaken to the core. They've barely had time to absorb the revelation when a nearby ship explodes. Rushing to help fight the ensuing fire, the Rannochs find the body of the powerful Duke of Bamford amid the charred wreckage. Bamford, a Tory diplomat and Raoul, a revolutionary, knew each other far better than anyone realized. Their unlikely alliance leads from the French Revolution through Napoleon and Josephine's glamorous court to the glittering Congress of Vienna, and the horrors of Waterloo. The clues from their past hold the key to Bamford's murder. As Malcolm and Mélanie connect the pieces, they find as many questions as answers. Raoul has even more secrets than either of them guessed, secrets they need to uncover to prevent his meeting the same fate as the duke. But the process may shake their relationships with him to the core. And their next goodbye could be their final parting.

A Duke's manor house party. Feuding spies. Stolen jewels. A ducal divorce. What could go wrong? An invitation to the country estate of the Duke of Bamford seems a welcome escape from London intrigues for former spies Malcolm and Mélanie Rannoch. They've just survived one of their most challenging and personal investigations ever. But the ducal house party is not quite the bucolic idyll they hoped for. Anthony and Henrietta Southcott, Duke and Duchess of Bamford, plan to announce their shocking plans to divorce to their friends and grown children. The ensuing scandal alone is enough to shake the Regency beau monde, but stolen treasure from the English Civil War, a secret passage, and stolen papers from the far more recent Napoleonic Wars plunge the Rannochs right back into the dangers they thought they had left behind. Soon they're racing to untangle a fiendish plot and prevent a disaster that would prove far more deadly than divorce…

In Regency London, an elopement is always fodder for gossip. But this time it may be cover for murder…Harriet Roth, a bookish spinster, lives a quiet, unassuming life; Tristram Gresham, a noted composer and even more noted roué, flaunts his disreputable reputation. When the two of them disappear, the scandalous implications are obvious to London's beau monde. But former spies Mélanie and Malcolm Rannoch, who are friends of both Harriet and Gresham, are sure something more complicated than an elopement is afoot. Especially because Harriet and Gresham left behind the dead body of an infamous international assassin in Gresham's fashionable bachelor rooms. How the missing couple were connected to the assassin is as puzzling as who killed him - and what brought him to London in the first place. But neither the quiet Harriet nor the rakish Gresham is what they seemed. Both are harboring secrets that people will kill to uncover. Trying to help their missing friends, the Rannochs enter a deadly game that runs from London's glamorous diplomatic community to the corridors of power in Westminster and Whitehall. Even Almack's exclusive assembly rooms hold deadly dangers-and avoiding scandal suddenly seems less important than simply staying alive...

An explosion that rips through the elegant bustle of Mayfair. Three victims who seemingly have no connection to each other. A dangerous weapon. The glamour of Regency London explodes when a carriage carrying a former diplomat is attacked in front of a Piccadilly pub, exposing a deadly web of murder and international intrigue. Summoned by Bow Street, former spies Malcolm and Mélanie Rannoch rush to the scene to find the wreckage still smoldering. Sir Stephen Strangeways, who is in line for a strategic government post, died in the explosion. Baron Hauke, an Austrian diplomat, and Julien Mallinson, a fellow former agent-and one of Mélanie and Malcolm's closest friends-are seriously wounded. Their lives hang in the balance while questions hang in the air. No one knows how the three men might be connected or who wants them dead. The search for answers sends the Rannochs deep into their past, from the scandalous history of exiled Queen Hortense Bonaparte to the dangerous intrigues of foreign revolutionaries. Julien's secrets are deeper and more deadly than even his friends know. Mélanie shares some of those secrets. Now she must reveal long buried truths that she's concealed from even her own husband. As the Rannochs race to solve the mystery and prevent a dangerous weapon from falling into the wrong hands, the safety of their country, the lives of their friends, and the future of their marriage hang in the balance...

A diplomatic scandal. An escape over the rooftops. Charges of treason. Just a normal night out for Regency London's most elegant spies Mélanie and Malcolm Rannoch. For aristocratic former spies Mélanie and Malcolm Rannoch, an attempt to steal incriminating documents is a normal evening out in Mayfair. The Napoleonic Wars taught the Rannochs to be prepared for the unexpected. But it seems they've acquired a lethal new enemy who not only snagged the papers ahead of them, but has been amassing information to blackmail them and their dearest friends. Suddenly their mission turns far more dangerous. They're no longer just working to avert a diplomatic scandal. They are trying to protect those closest to them from arrest and imprisonment. Mélanie and Malcolm hatch a dangerous plot to outwit their enemy on a royal night at the opera, with the king in attendance. But in candlelit salons it's difficult to tell allies from enemies. And if they fail, it is the Rannochs themselves who could be facing charges of treason...