A Double Deception
By Gillian Kaye 

     Charlotte Kempe has always been something of a tomboy, and even her mother thinks she would have made a handsome youth though a rather unladylike girl. However, her mother has married again, and her new stepfather has his eye on the maids - and his hands on her. It all comes to a head one night and she ends up shooting him and running away to her family's retired cook Granny Smailes who lives in a cottage in Robin Hood's Bay. Once there she discovers that Granny is not as "retired" as she thought, as she is involved with the smugglers and soon so is Charlotte. However, it is not until she disguises herself as a boy and goes to work at nearby Howebeck Hall that her adventures really start in the shape of the attractive Marius Howe…

     This sprightly tale is a lot of fun, dealing as it does with smugglers, disguises and adventures. Gillian Kaye has a light touch, somehow nothing seems to get too serious, and there is an air of frivolity reminiscent of a light operetta or aspects of Georgette Heyer. Perhaps in some ways this is the quintessential Regency romp, featuring above all a good humoured ambience that might well have been how the well-to-do looked at life although not indicative of the period across the board. If you like your romances joyful and airy then this ought to appeal.