Author: Karen Brooks
# of Pages: 566 (paperback)
Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Romance
Rating:★★★☆☆
Synopsis:Mallory Bright is the only daughter of London's most ingenious locksmith. She has apprenticed with her father since childhood, and there is no lock too elaborate for her to crack. After scandal destroys her reputation, Mallory has returned to her father's home and lives almost as a recluse, ignoring the whispers and gossip of their neighbors. But Sir Francis Walsingham, Queen Elizabeth's spymaster and a frequent client of Mallory's father, draws her into his world of danger and deception. For the locksmith's daughter is not only good at cracking locks, she also has a talent for codes, spycraft, and intrigue. With Mallory by Sir Francis’s side, no scheme in England or abroad is safe from discovery. But Mallory's loyalty wavers when she witnesses the brutal and bloody public execution of three Jesuit priests and realizes the human cost of her espionage. And later, when she discovers the identity of a Catholic spy and a conspiracy that threatens the kingdom, she is forced to choose between her country and her heart.
Review: I'd like to first applaud Brooks for all the research she put into this book. This was one of the only times where I bothered to read the author's note all the way through because she goes through what sources she used and how she even went so far as to visit the locations that were used in the story.
This book was a slow start; I ended up reading this book in two chunks; the first two hundred pages, then months of a break, and finally finishing the last three hundredish pages this weekend. The main aspect of the book to blame for this (and one of the reasons why its rating is missing two stars) is the author's laborious writing style. The beginning of the story dragged, and while the latter half of the book was more interesting, the plot was predictable.
There were many events (i.e. revelations Mallory has from a certain experience, spur of the moment decisions, etc.) that seemed acts merely as a plot device rather than naturally flowing from the current direction of the plot, character development, etc. I'm a sucker for cheesy romance and therefore was a sucker for the romance parts of this book, but it was cheesy nonetheless.
I have seen some label this book as a thriller; it is definitely not. Historical fiction and romance are the most accurate genres. In fact, if you are looking for a book about spycraft, I would look elsewhere. The focus of this book is not on the skills she learns under Sir Francis's employment but rather her personal growth, so those interested in "codes, spycraft, and intrigue" would have better luck with a different book.
Another surprising aspect were the descriptions of physical and sexual assault. Unlike many other books I have read, this book does not glaze over such occurrences and describes some encounters with more detail than I was expecting.
Overall, although I enjoyed some aspects of my book, my time would have better been spent reading something else. I would not recommend this book.
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