From Publishers Weekly
Brit history maven Grant's debut novel aspires to be a historical thriller, an incisive study of the "spy game" and a revisionist, feminist take on pre-Victorian England, all rolled into one breathlessly paced 500-page package. Unfortunately, Grant's skills as historian exceed her talents as writer, and her graceful intentions are shanghaied by a welter of stale characterizations, unsurprising plot twists and clunky prose. (It's never encouraging when a book opens with a sentence like "It was the sort of night that cloaks a multitude of sins.") Centering upon M‚lanie and Charles Fraser, an upper-crust 1810s London power couple he's a member of parliament and the grandson of a duke; she's a flawlessly coifed social diva the novel kicks into gear when their beloved son, Colin, is kidnapped by thugs in the employ of a sinister Spanish antiroyalist. As the Frasers frantically investigate Colin's disappearance, they discover that the kidnappers are after the Carevalo Ring, a legendary object with Tolkienesque symbolic power, which may be in the possession of Helen Trevennen, a sly, erstwhile actress. The Frasers pursue the elusive Trevennen amid a barrage of revelations, most notably the less-than-shocking admission that M‚lanie is actually a former French spy. For the rest of the novel, the reader is plunged into a morass of uninspired action set pieces and maddeningly repetitive dialogues on betrayal, dishonor and forgiveness. Despite its many flaws, Grant's tale is at least swift-moving and fairly involving, leaving room for hope that her next endeavor will be more satisfying. Agent, Nancy Yost. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Grant masterfully weaves personal and political deceptions into a taut fabric of historical intrigue in 1819 England. When Charles and M‚lanie Fraser's young son is kidnapped, the motive seems to be ransom or political chicanery. However, the man behind the kidnapping wants a ring that has legendary powers to protect its wearer and rally support in a contested region of Spain. He is convinced that the Frasers know its location because of their part in the Spanish war against Napoleon seven years earlier. With only days to find the ring and save their son, Charles and M‚lanie reveal secrets about their pasts that tear through years of lies. Most notably, M‚lanie had worked as a French spy, an admission that devastates her husband. But as they unravel clues, he reevaluates his own military intelligence work and realizes that "honor" cannot be an all-encompassing guide. Grant reveals the heady nature of espionage that leads people to deceive themselves and others. Again and again she twists the plot to make the Frasers, and readers, look at actions and motives in new ways. Historical fiction fans will race through this impressive debut. Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State Univ., Mankato Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
In a fast-paced novel of espionage and intrigue, the kidnapping of six-year-old Colin Fraser from his aristocratic London home in 1819 sets off events that threaten his parents in unimaginable ways. In their furious quest to find their child's ransom--the Carevalo ring, sought by both England and France during the recent war for the power it was believed to give its owner--both Melanie and Charles Fraser risk physical danger as well as their marriage. British diplomat and politician Charles feels betrayed at learning that his beloved wife was a French spy, while Melanie is hurt to hear of his earlier ill-fated love affair and its effect on their own relationship. On the trail of the ring in and around London, revelations abound, action is unabated, and a deeper level of understanding grows between the pair. The publisher calls this Grant's debut novel, but she has a number of paperback historical romances to her credit, and the storytelling skills that have garnered rave reviews are evident here. Michele Leber
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Book Description

On a cloud-shrouded night in November 1816, six-year-old Colin Fraser vanishes from the safe cocoon of his family's Berkeley Square home. For his father Charles, an idealistic MP, former intelligence agent, and grandson of a duke, and mother Mélanie, a beautiful war refugee and society's most charming hostess, it is a tragedy that will rip their extraordinary marriage asunder and force them to question everything they believe in. Colin's captors are demanding a bizarre ransom: an exquisite ring surrounded by the promise of power. The search for it will pull the Frasers into a maze of intrigue that winds through the lowest and highest levels of London secrets -- revealing layer upon layer of deception and betrayal, and a shocking truth that binds Charles and Mélanie inextricably together ... even as it threatens to destroy them both.


About the Author
Tracy Grant studied British history at Stanford University and received the Firestone Award for Excellence in Research for her honors thesis. She lives in northern California, where she is on the board of the Merola Opera Program, a training program for professional opera singers, coaches, and stage directors, and is managing director of h e l p: human elemental laboratory of performance. Daughter of the Game, the further adventures of Charles and Mélanie Fraser, is also available from Morrow/Avon.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In 1819 London, a time when marriage is of convenience and love often a game, one fashionable couple's union seems to be a model of constancy. But on a cold November night, the disappearance of their child plunges Charles and Melanie Fraser into a nightmare of intrigue and uncertainty that stretches back to the Napoleonic War. The search for their son rips their perfect jewel-box of a life asunder, laying bare hard truths that lurk at the heart of their union.

Yet it isn't long before they hear of their child's fate from his kidnappers. His ransom is a ring...not just any ring, but the one that — legend has it — bestows power upon its owner. A ring many in power would kill to possess. As Charles and Melanie's search takes them on a journey to the underside of Regency society, they are focused to unravel a past that binds them together in unexpected ways, even as it threatens to destroy them.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Brit history maven Grant's debut novel aspires to be a historical thriller, an incisive study of the "spy game" and a revisionist, feminist take on pre-Victorian England, all rolled into one breathlessly paced 500-page package. Unfortunately, Grant's skills as historian exceed her talents as writer, and her graceful intentions are shanghaied by a welter of stale characterizations, unsurprising plot twists and clunky prose. (It's never encouraging when a book opens with a sentence like "It was the sort of night that cloaks a multitude of sins.") Centering upon M lanie and Charles Fraser, an upper-crust 1810s London power couple he's a member of parliament and the grandson of a duke; she's a flawlessly coifed social diva the novel kicks into gear when their beloved son, Colin, is kidnapped by thugs in the employ of a sinister Spanish antiroyalist. As the Frasers frantically investigate Colin's disappearance, they discover that the kidnappers are after the Carevalo Ring, a legendary object with Tolkienesque symbolic power, which may be in the possession of Helen Trevennen, a sly, erstwhile actress. The Frasers pursue the elusive Trevennen amid a barrage of revelations, most notably the less-than-shocking admission that M lanie is actually a former French spy. For the rest of the novel, the reader is plunged into a morass of uninspired action set pieces and maddeningly repetitive dialogues on betrayal, dishonor and forgiveness. Despite its many flaws, Grant's tale is at least swift-moving and fairly involving, leaving room for hope that her next endeavor will be more satisfying. Agent, Nancy Yost. (Apr.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Grant masterfully weaves personal and political deceptions into a taut fabric of historical intrigue in 1819 England. When Charles and M lanie Fraser's young son is kidnapped, the motive seems to be ransom or political chicanery. However, the man behind the kidnapping wants a ring that has legendary powers to protect its wearer and rally support in a contested region of Spain. He is convinced that the Frasers know its location because of their part in the Spanish war against Napoleon seven years earlier. With only days to find the ring and save their son, Charles and M lanie reveal secrets about their pasts that tear through years of lies. Most notably, M lanie had worked as a French spy, an admission that devastates her husband. But as they unravel clues, he reevaluates his own military intelligence work and realizes that "honor" cannot be an all-encompassing guide. Grant reveals the heady nature of espionage that leads people to deceive themselves and others. Again and again she twists the plot to make the Frasers, and readers, look at actions and motives in new ways. Historical fiction fans will race through this impressive debut. Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State Univ., Mankato Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews