Reviewed by Suan Wilson
Posted December 15, 2007

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Annique Villiers, the elusive French spy known as the Fox Cub, has secrets her superior, LeBlanc, does not want revealed. Caught and imprisoned by LeBlanc, Annique shares her cell with two British spies whose life expectancies are not much longer than her own. A master of deception, Annique expertly immerses herself into the role of a seductress. When her jailer succumbs to her charms, Annique has placed her fate in the hands of the head of British Intelligence.

Dumb luck has given the infamous Fox Cub into Robert Grey's custody. Keeping the slippery cub from escaping, while fleeing France with half the French Intelligence Agents after them, proves challenging. A challenge he welcomes, for the knowledge Annique has will prove indispensable as the English attempt to defeat Napoleon. Grey's perception of Annique proves faulty as she surprises him with her wit and courage as they evade their enemies. Passion flares between them, but they know two enemies cannot have a future together.

Grey and Annique enter an uneasy and fragile alliance that breaks at an inopportune time. Trapped on all sides and given hard truths, Annique sets in motion an honorable way to retire without betraying her country or endangering Grey's love.

What a treat from debut author Joanna Bourne! She takes a pivotal time in English and French history and delivers a suspenseful page-turner. THE SPYMASTER'S LADY is an all-night read as the reader follows the fascinating characters on their perilous journey from France to England. Surprises and complications to the plot are dispersed throughout the story giving twists and turns that add up to a winner.

The Spymaster's Lady by Joanna Bourne

Summary

She's never met a man she couldn't deceive...until now.

She's braved battlefields. She's stolen dispatches from under the noses of heads of state. She's played the worldly courtesan, the naive virgin, the refined British lady, even a Gypsy boy. But Annique Villiers, the elusive spy known as the Fox Cub, has finally met the one man she can't outwit.