#Review: THE LADY AND THE EARL by Ruth A. Casie

 

3 of 5 stars

 

I have not read any books by Ms. Casie before, and I was excited to read this one, especially after reading the blurb. However, the blurb did not really align with the book. It seemed as if there were almost two books combined into one. The first part is when Ashe Dunn, the Earl of Lockford is injured on his way to London and brought to a nearby clinic to be nursed back to health by Harriet Manning, but he has secrets and is not who he seems. Lady Harriet Manning has been training with her father and is an accomplished physician in her own right. When she treats the injured man, she's drawn to Mr. Dunn like no one else. In the four weeks, it takes for Ashe to heal, they fall in love, and when her father, Dr. Manning, is scheduled to give a medical lecture in London, they all traveled there together. 

This is where I thought I was reading a different book. There was no foreshadowing while Ashe was healing that he was a spy who worked for the Crown. That would have linked the two parts of the story together nicely. The writing is disjointed at times, and on numerous occasions, I was confused about who was speaking because there were no dialogue tags. It was most confusing, along with a lack of attention to detail in some of the scenes. This distracted me from the story, and I had to go back and read some scenes again to understand what was happening. There were so many characters introduced once Ashe got to London that I lost track of who was who and was losing interest in the story.

I had an inkling about who the villain was in the story, and it was brilliant. It certainly saved the story and garnered another star to 3 stars. While Ms. Casie is an accomplished writer, it seemed that perhaps this story was rushed to publication. The editing was a bit lacking as well, and some of those details should have been caught in the editing process. I think with a little more fleshing out and a bit more foreshadowing on Ashe's part at the beginning of the book, that would rachet up the tension and make for a thrilling spy novel. As it is written now, it is mediocre at best.

I voluntarily read the book provided by N.N. Light Book Heaven, and all opinions are my own.