India Black (A Madam of Espionage Mystery) - Softcover

Carr, Carol K.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0425238660 ISBN 13: 9780425238660

Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group, 2011

Synopsis

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When Sir Archibald Latham of the War Office dies from a heart attack while visiting her brothel, Madam India Black is unexpectedly thrust into a deadly game between Russian and British agents who are seeking the military secrets Latham carried.

Blackmailed into recovering the missing documents by the British spy known as French, India finds herself dodging Russian agents-and the attraction she starts to feel for the handsome conspirator.

About this title

About the Author

After a career as an attorney and corporate executive,Carol K. Carr turned to writing. She is the author of the Madame of Espionage mysteries. She lives in the Missouri Ozarks with her husband and two German shepherds.

Reviews

Set in 1876, Carr's breezy, fast-paced debut introduces feisty India Black, who runs a London brothel catering to gentlemen, many of whom recognize the reference to the Tennyson poem in the brothel's name, Lotus House. When a patron turns up dead at Lotus House, India plots to dump the corpse elsewhere to preserve her business's reputation, but her efforts are interrupted by the shadowy Mr. French, who assumes responsibility for disposal of the body. In exchange, India agrees to go undercover at the behest of the prime minister himself, Benjamin Disraeli, to prevent highly sensitive documents that the victim was carrying from falling into the wrong hands. The dead man proves to have been Sir Archibald Latham, of the War Office, and the missing documents regard England's readiness to fight the Russians in the Balkans. Readers should be prepared for formulaic plot twists involving numerous escapes and gunfights. (Jan.)
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India Black, the beautiful young madam of Lotus House, an elegant brothel in Victorian England, has her hands full keeping her girls in line, avoiding the police, and dealing with an insistent clergyman who hopes to save all of them. When Sir Archibald Latham, a high-ranking official at the War Office, dies of a heart attack while enjoying the services of one of India’s tarts, she finds herself in the middle of a deadly espionage game between Russian and British agents who want the military secrets that were in Sir Archibald’s briefcase. French, a handsome British spy, catches India disposing of Latham’s body and blackmails her into helping him recover the missing papers. The trail takes them from the Russian embassy to Claridge’s Hotel and down the English coast as they try to elude the Russians who want to kill them. Also threatening to distract them from their goal is the growing attraction each feels for the other. Readers will enjoy this impressive debut novel, which provides a colorful portrait of Victorian society as seen through the eyes of a strong, intelligent woman. --Barbara Bibel

Edition details

• Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0425238660
• ISBN 13: 9780425238660
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304