{"id":1380,"date":"2014-05-16T09:12:42","date_gmt":"2014-05-16T16:12:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lindabrinson.com\/?p=1380"},"modified":"2014-05-16T09:12:42","modified_gmt":"2014-05-16T16:12:42","slug":"spies-gentleman-and-madam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lindabrinson.com\/?p=1380","title":{"rendered":"Spies: gentleman and madam"},"content":{"rendered":"

Speaking of mysteries, foul deeds and intrigue: I seem to have missed book No. 3 in Carol K. Carr\u2019s entertaining India Black series. My very strong clue was the arrival of what appears to be book No. 4 in my mailbox, listing the two previous novels I had read and reviewed (favorably, I might add), plus one \u2013 India Black and the Shadows of Anarchy <\/em>\u2013 that I had never seen.<\/p>\n

There was nothing for it but to enjoy the new book and make a note to pursue the one that went astray at a later date.<\/p>\n

Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson<\/p>\n

INDIA BLACK AND THE GENTLEMAN THIEF. By Carol K. Carr. Berkley Prime Crime. 312 pages. $15, paperback.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>If you haven\u2019t read any of Carol K. Carr\u2019s previous entries in the \u201cmadam of espionage mystery\u201d series, you might want track down the first one. Unless you\u2019ve read that introductory book, you might have a little trouble suspending enough disbelief to accept the madam of a brothel as a plausible spy for Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli\u2019s government in Victorian England. Once you\u2019ve read the first book, you should have no trouble enjoying subsequent ones, even if you encounter them out of order.<\/p>\n

These are Victorian novels, yes, and they\u2019re novels of espionage that draw ably on the facts of European political intrigue during the Victorian era. They are also historical romances, in that there\u2019s a strong attraction and hint of more to come between India and the handsome spy she\u2019s often teamed with, Major French \u2013 despite, of course, their rather volatile relationship and frequent disagreements.<\/p>\n

What sets these novels apart from others in similar categories is India\u2019s unorthodox profession as the owner and operator of a brothel (not to mention her past as a working girl). India\u2019s status gives Carr free rein to depict her as a strong, independent, irreverent, headstrong and often amusing young woman with far more freedom than the more coddled (and repressed) Victorian women who people most such novels.<\/p>\n

Once you accept the idea, India is a natural as a spy. She\u2019s beautiful and well aware of how to use her feminine attributes to best advantage. She doesn\u2019t mind breaking rules and can lie with a straight face. She has her own strong set of values, but they tend to be more pragmatic than those of French. And she\u2019s competitive enough to keep up with the men, even if it means coming into closer contact with nature than she\u2019d like, and occasionally damaging her finery.<\/p>\n

India is sassy and resourceful, and, as a first-person narrator, frank (but not graphic) about her past lapses and her current passions. But it\u2019s all in good fun. Even though the plight of women, especially poor women, in Victorian England is dire, and even though the intrigue and dangers are realistically developed, Carr maintains a light tone.<\/p>\n

This time out, a colonel who is a customer inexplicably sends a shipping bill to India\u2019s establishment. Before she can give much thought as to why, three thugs storm her door, beat up her and French, and steal the envelope. Naturally, India and French want to find out what\u2019s going on, and very soon they find Colonel Mayhew, dead in a very grisly fashion. The mystery and action pick up quickly, taking our intrepid spies out to sea, into the countryside and in harm\u2019s way. To make things more complicated, a figure from India\u2019s past is in league with the bad guys.<\/p>\n

Just to complicate things and provide further personal intrigue for future volumes, a difficult houseguest complete with entourage arrives at India\u2019s establishment. India learns more about her personal history, not to mention her surprising current social status. What fun!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Speaking of mysteries, foul deeds and intrigue: I seem to have missed book No. 3 in Carol K. Carr\u2019s entertaining India Black series. My very strong clue was the arrival of what appears to be book No. 4 in my mailbox, listing the two previous novels I had read and reviewed (favorably, I might add), […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,14],"tags":[160,36,558],"class_list":["post-1380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-historical-fiction","category-thriller-suspense","tag-carol-k-carr","tag-india-black","tag-victorian-fiction"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lindabrinson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1380","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lindabrinson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lindabrinson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lindabrinson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lindabrinson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1380"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lindabrinson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1380\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1382,"href":"https:\/\/lindabrinson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1380\/revisions\/1382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lindabrinson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lindabrinson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lindabrinson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}