Tags
5 stars, Book Review, historical, mystery, romance, series, Susanna Craig
Review of Who’s That Earl
The story takes place in the Highlands of Scotland in Dunnock Castle. As the new Earl, the castle belongs to Thomas Sutherland, but as nobody knows the identity of the Earl yet, he is able to visit incognito. He finds the castle inhabited by widow Jane Higgenbottom, who is not only Thomas’ former flame, but also an author who writes under a name associated with titillating gothic romances.
Thomas and Jane are reunited after seven years apart when neither knew nor understood what had happened to the other. Add the fact that their lives have changed in significant and unknown ways, and you have a story with plenty of secret yearnings, secret identities and conversations full of misunderstandings.
I quite enjoyed the subterfuge and misdirections that were accompanied by corresponding revelations and epiphanies as Thomas and Jane got reacquainted while dealing with a threat. The staff of the castle and the townspeople are also among the deceived. I also really enjoyed when Jane explained to Thomas why she was a widow. In an era when men control the lives of women Jane’s widowhood was safe and freeing, as compared to being an unmarried single woman.
While the reader knows most of the facts, there are still some be uncovered. Who is threatening Jane and is she in danger? Getting Thomas and Jane back together is the main task of this story, but danger and suspense will be the perfect catalyst. Who’s That Earl is a splendid combination of historical romance and suspense.
About Who’s That Earl by Susanna Craig
Miss Jane Quayle excels at invention. How else could the sheltered daughter of an English gentleman create lurid gothic novels so infamous someone wants their author silenced forever? Fortunately, Jane has taken steps to protect herself, first by assuming a pen name, and second, by taking up residence at remote Dunnock Castle, surrounded by rugged scenery that might have been ripped from the pages of one of her books. Her true identity remains a secret, until one dark and stormy night…
After years of spying for the British army, Thomas Sutherland doubts the Highlands will ever feel like home again. Nevertheless, thanks to a quirk of Scottish inheritance law, he’s now the Earl of Magnus, complete with a crumbling castle currently inhabited by a notorious novelist. When the writer turns out to be the woman Thomas once wooed, suspicions rise even as mutual sparks reignite. As danger closes in, can Jane and Thomas overcome their pasts to forge a future together?
Links
Add Who’s That Earl to your Goodreads shelf:
Purchase books in the Love and Let Spy series:
**********************
Whiskey With My Book 