Very interesting series, but the author wrote the books in random order so the three books I have in my hands Vienna Waltz (chronologically first of the three), Daughter of the Game (retitled Secrets of a Lady and the third) and Beneath a Silent Moon (second of the three) are related and I suppose could be read in any order, but my sense of order does not like that idea so much. I would recommend the chronological approach, but the stories and the histories of the characters are pretty convoluted(and fascinating) so it may not matter at all. Just enjoy the ride. ( )

Rich, handsome and respected, Charles Fraser survived the Napoleonic Wars and now has it all: two healthy children, the love of his beautiful and intelligent wife Melanie, and a burgeoning political career. But then his son is kidnapped, and Charles can only save him by plunging into society's underbelly and the bloody past he tried to repress.

Only a few chapters in, a Huge Secret is revealed. Most of the time, Huge Secrets are either the end of a novel or are forgiven/forgotten after a single touching scene. But here, the characters deal with the repercussions for the rest of the novel. I really enjoyed watching them work through the consequences and renegotiate their relationships. Charles and Melanie are a little too anachronistically enlightened to be believable, but I'm glad Grant made the attempt.

SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT!
Melanie was a French spy and for the first few years of their marriage, stole papers and info from Charles and their English friends. Moreover, their son is actually Melanie's with her spy master, Raol. AND Raol in in fact Charles's father as well. AND Charles's younger half-brother Edgar is the villain. Why make Raol father Charles? Why have Edgar be evil? Half the twists are unnecessary. ( )

Tracy Grant changed publishers and began to write prequels to this book under the name Teresa Grant. She used the same characters, but at the behest of her publisher renamed them Malcolm and Suzanne Rannoch. I enjoyed the first book, Vienna Waltz and most of Imperial Scandal. I had read those books before reading this one, and it undoubtedly colors my opinion of this one.

I came to hate this book, not for any lack of writing ability or skill in portraying the period, but for how she changed Melanie/Suzanne (M/S) in this book and the end of Imperial Scandal. I don't want to create a spoiler, although this is pretty early in the plot of this book. by M/S's motives for the behavior that she had concealed from Charles/Malcolm (C/M) destroyed virtually all my sympathy for her. This issue is never really dealt with in this plot. They discuss what they did, but never how they come to terms with it. C/M, the least guilty, feels the worst, while M/S, constantly saying how guilty she is, never seems to feel any real remorse. C/M has done so much for his wife, and he is so endlessly forgiving (apparently), and she is never grateful. For someone who has espoused radical ideas, she is certainly happy to enjoy her wealth. They plan to discuss all this, but never do; it just sort of fades out of the picture. Presumably we are supposed to be so distracted by the frenetic plot that we forget it.

After reading this, I probably won't continue with the sequel, and I'm not sure that I can face the prequels, either.

Again, if I had not read the prequels, I might not have felt so strongly about this book. ( )

Intrigue, sharply-drawn characters, unanticipated motivations -- this is a very nice first novel and I look forward to future works by this author. ( )