Sunday, February 25, 2024

Elizabeth Ellen Carter’s LIVE AND LET SPY – Early Regency set in Cornwall

The story begins in 1804 when Adam Hardacre, a seaman in the Royal Navy, is refused a promotion to officer he well deserves. He quits in disgust and is then approached by a senior spy who wants him to serve his country undercover. It was all a setup to put Adam in the place the government agents want him.

 

Adam takes up his work as a spy and is assigned to Cornwall where he spent his youth. There he is to ferret out traitors plotting a French invasion of England. While about this task, he meets a governess between jobs, Olivia Collins. Interested in Adam, she finds a secret from his past—a youthful summer love affair with the local squire’s daughter that led to a child he is not aware of.

 

Olivia gets tangled up in Adam’s spying and both end up in trouble. The story is well-written and has enough twists to hold your attention. While the hero is a seaman turned spy, there are no scenes aboard a ship. It’s more of an early Regency, but the Cornwall setting adds flavor. The characters are well drawn and the bad guy(s) deceptive.

 


 

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