cover image True as Fate

True as Fate

Laurie Alice Eakes. Waterfall, $12.95 trade paper (350p) ISBN 978-1-5039-4289-9

Set in Regency-era England, Eakes’s (My Enemy, My Heart) second installment of the Ashford Chronicles explores the secrets and complications that arise from an unconventional love. Freethinking Lady Chloe Ashford will go to great lengths to right the wrong she perpetrated three years earlier when she inadvertently got privateer Ross Trenerry branded a traitor. The adventurous American, a former merchantman captured during the War of 1812, is back in England to prove he did not abandon his men during the war, but was instead actually in prison during those months. But Ross has few friends in England willing to help. Juliet, Chloe’s younger sister, believes herself in love with Ross and tries to contact him, but the Ashfords’ precarious social standing would be threatened by an association with him. When Juliet suddenly disappears, Chloe and Ross set off on a dangerous, wild journey to find her and clear Ross’s good name. Between chases and sword fights, gun battles and near escapes, the truth of their shared history and feelings for one another is laid bare. Themes of faithfulness, truth, and courage are woven throughout this fast-paced, high-intrigue historical spy drama. (June)