Nita Abrams

Regency/France and England/Spy's Series

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Ah, the strapping gentlemen-heroes of the Regency romance.

Rich, self-proclaimed "men of leisure," they entertain themselves with grueling schedules of boxing at Gentleman Jackson's, cattle selection at Tattersall's, and gaming and wagering at White's.

There's rigorous swordplay with Master Angelo -- because one never knows when one will be called upon to call out some perfidious scoundrel.

But if that scoundrel is, say, a little scrap of a Frenchman who insists he simply must have France and all of Europe under his teeny, tiny thumb?

Well, that gets tricky for men for whom working is anathema. What's a gentleman in a Regency to do to avoid looking look like a conscription-dodger?

He does a little work for the Home Office.

And tries to be a lot like Nathan Meyer, the courageous hero of "The Spy's Reward," the latest novel in Nita Abrams' smart, witty, and remarkably romantic series of "Spy" romances.

Wealthy and quietly powerful, Nathan Meyer is a dangerous man who's spent years risking his life for Crown and country. Yet most of Regency society doesn't consider Meyer a gentleman; he is a Jew.

Because friends understand him to be a consummate gentleman, Meyer's called upon to escort from France to London a family acquaintance and her daughter -- a task he gallantly accepts even while expecting he's being encouraged to court the younger woman.

Twice-widowed Abigail Hart has her hands full reining in her too-pretty-by-half daughter, Diana. So when the self-possessed and handsome Meyer arrives to collect them, Abigail's concerned the dashing older man is too much for her spirited daughter to resist.

But Meyer has no designs on the daughter. It's Abigail who's got him dreaming of wisps of hair falling from beneath demure caps. And questioning his devotion to duty: Is he justified in using her and Diana as covers for his dangerous mission to gather intelligence about Napoleon's latest go at European domination?

"The Spy's Reward" is a divine historical, rich with ambiance, great research, and thrilling plot.

It does not read like a university text. Rather, it enfolds the reader in a love story set against the glamour of the Regency period and the nationalistic fervor surrounding the rise to military superiority of the British Empire.

Abrams is a wickedly-bright writer who incorporates into "The Spy's Reward" issues such as divorce, Sephardic law and the Jewish experience in Regency England.

Yet she draws sensual tension between Meyer and Abigail that is passionate, romantic and authentic to the characters' lifestyles and experience.

Even though Nita Abram's next novel will be a traditional historical, you can still read "The Spy's Reward" and the rest of the wonderful "Spy" series. But first you have to --

Buy the book.

NitaAbrams.com

Next Week's Review and AuthorView: "Hot Ticket," by Deirdre Martin, Julia London, Annette Blair, and Geri Buckley.