THE HIGHLANDER'S SECRET

In Cordon’s historical romance, an assignment reunites a young Scottish spy with a childhood friend who harbors secrets of his own.

In the autumn of 1747, England and Scotland are locked in fierce conflict as the British Army seeks to enforce England’s dominion. Despite the dangers posed by the conflict, the Jacobites are willing to risk their lives to fight the English. Phoebe Dunbar assists the cause by acting as a spy in the home of the English general Bolingbroke. Phoebe’s dedication is personal—after a Redcoat named Faye Ross brutally attacked her, the Jacobite movement gave her a sense of purpose (she’d experienced a “bleak blackness of a life until she signed up with the Movement and started fighting”). One afternoon, Phoebe is surprised to see Col. Slade MacLean of the Royal Scots Greys, a friend from childhood and close confidant of her brother, Egan, at Bolingbroke’s manor. Their reunion sparks an instant attraction, although Slade is still grieving the death of his fiancée, Sylvia. When Phoebe discovers that Bolingbroke’s involved in a plot to violently enforce the abolition of “heritable jurisdictions” in the Highlands, she turns to Slade for help. Their plan to warn friends and family of the danger grows complicated when they’re forced to marry to avoid a scandal, and the threat intensifies when they encounter an enemy from Phoebe’s past. The first installment in Cordon’s Scottish Highland Warriors series is a fast-paced and emotionally nuanced romance replete with well-drawn characters and lavish historical detail. Phoebe Dunbar is an amiable hero who channels the trauma of her past into a plan to fight for her family and country. She is well complemented by Slade MacLean, a longtime family friend with a secret agenda; their relationship develops slowly and methodically as their youthful friendship evolves into adult passion. Cordon grounds the novel in English and Scottish history, with the Heritable Jurisdictions Act and Phoebe’s attempt to warn her family about its enforcement a central focus of the action. The result is a thoughtful, well-developed yarn that deftly balances history and romance.

A richly detailed story with an appealing mix of action and intrigue.