kirkusreviews.com
The third book in Cole’s (A Duke by Default, 2018, etc.)
Civil War–era Loyal League series pairs a broken man bent on retribution with
an inexperienced but courageous double agent.
Daniel Cumberland was born free in Massachusetts, but his
education and professional status did not protect him from being kidnapped and
sold into slavery, an experience that destroyed his faith in God, country, and
himself even after he’s rescued. At night, memories of his time in captivity
haunt him, but by day he is a detective with the Loyal League, one of the
North’s most important spy rings. Daniel is ruthless and heartless, motivated
by an all-consuming thirst for vengeance that sets him apart even from his
fellow spies, with their naïve optimism that the war can
bring about a better life for people of all races. Janeta Sanchez had lived a
pampered and privileged life as the daughter of a Cuban plantation owner who
had settled in Florida. But when Yankee soldiers imprison her father and
quarter themselves in her home, she agrees to travel to Ohio to infiltrate the
Loyal League and spy for the Confederate cause. In unfamiliar terrain, where
others’ perceptions clash with her self-image, Janeta “was coming to understand
both her place in this country and her own inner geography better; she was
recharting the map of herself.” Cole conveys the ways Janeta’s and Daniel’s
layered identities pose challenges while affording them strengths of insight
and character. Cole weaves a tense and gripping plot into a tapestry of
fascinating and authentic historical detail, told from the distinct
perspectives of people of color, without skimping on the growing feelings and
strong desires that bring two lovers together.
Forbidden attraction and the threat of betrayal are the initial
hooks for what turns out to be a sumptuously written and meticulously
researched tale of a country at war with itself and two damaged people who find
themselves in each other’s arms.
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