The Spy by Celeste Bradley
Jul. 25th, 2009 11:51 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meganbmooreJames Cunnington is a spy who may or may not have betrayed England when his evil mistress abducted and tortured him. He doesn’t remember if he did, but people ended up dead, so he figures he probably did. Somewhere along the way, he decided to adopt a street kid. This, presumably, is all recounted in an earlier book in the series in which his sister, too, becomes an undercover spy to save him. Naturally, I shall find and read that book. James, possibly, is the only spy to ever be abducted and tortured and possibly betray England who somehow came out of it nice and kinda sweet.
Phillipa Atwater’s father is a codebreaker for the government, but he has disappeared and is suspected of being a traitor. A message he left indicates that James may have information that could save him, so she dressed like a man (Of course!) and gets herself hired on as a tutor to James’s adopted son, Robbie. Almost everyone but James sees through Phillipa’s disguise almost immediately. This is because she gives her real age, so James decides she’s really about 15 and a destitute boy desperate for employment. I suspect James has secret mother hen tendencies. Also, for a spy, he doesn’t seem that bright.
I’m not big on romance plots where the leads suspect each other, but Bradley pulls it off well. Phillipa, who has been on the run since her father’s disappearance, has pretty legitimate reasons to trust James. James doesn’t suspect her until he has very good reasons to, and the way things play out when he learns the truth makes his reaction fairly mild, as compared to how most books would have it play out. She also doesn’t play the martyr or act like she committed a grave sin, which was refreshing.
Not as engaging or plotty as some “And they’re spies!” books (and with surprisingly unsmart spies and codebreakers.), but largely without the frustrations that tend to go with such books.
Phillipa Atwater’s father is a codebreaker for the government, but he has disappeared and is suspected of being a traitor. A message he left indicates that James may have information that could save him, so she dressed like a man (Of course!) and gets herself hired on as a tutor to James’s adopted son, Robbie. Almost everyone but James sees through Phillipa’s disguise almost immediately. This is because she gives her real age, so James decides she’s really about 15 and a destitute boy desperate for employment. I suspect James has secret mother hen tendencies. Also, for a spy, he doesn’t seem that bright.
I’m not big on romance plots where the leads suspect each other, but Bradley pulls it off well. Phillipa, who has been on the run since her father’s disappearance, has pretty legitimate reasons to trust James. James doesn’t suspect her until he has very good reasons to, and the way things play out when he learns the truth makes his reaction fairly mild, as compared to how most books would have it play out. She also doesn’t play the martyr or act like she committed a grave sin, which was refreshing.
Not as engaging or plotty as some “And they’re spies!” books (and with surprisingly unsmart spies and codebreakers.), but largely without the frustrations that tend to go with such books.