It is England in 1820, a time of social and economic upheaval. The long-term Napoleonic wars had ended, but peace was far from realized. Unemployed career soldiers and sailors flooded the workforce. Industrial change pulled England from a largely agricultural country to one of large industry, with machines replacing people. This leaves many of the working class hungry and feeling oppressed. Riots erupt and laws grow more and more restrictive.
Into this near chaos, steps a group of ten Londoners, determined to overhaul the government. They hatch a radical and brutal solution: storm a house where the prime minister and his cabinet would be having dinner, shoot and behead the leaders, and then parade around London with the heads like gruesome banners.
Thankfully, this mass murder was averted largely in part due to an undercover government agent whom some believe was a Bow Street constable, or “Runner.” As a side note, further research has revealed that Runner was a nickname; the correct term was constable. At any rate, I never learned this brave hero’s name. Due to his work, government agents stormed the meeting in a flat on Cato Street and arrested the conspirators. Unfortunately, the radicals didn’t go peacefully. They fought back and killed one of the officers.
Convicted of high treason, five of the conspirators were transported; the rest were executed at Newgate Prison.
This historical event, known as the Cato Street Conspiracy, sparked my imagination. Naturally, I had to write my own spin on the famous factual tale. Though the details are different in my novel, and the characters are fictitious, my newest Regency Romance, The Suspect’s Daughter, book 4 of the award-winning Rogue Hearts Series, is the result.
Determined to help her father with his political career, Jocelyn sets aside dreams of love. When she meets the handsome and mysterious Grant Amesbury, her dreams of true love reawaken. But his secrets put her family in peril.
Grant goes undercover to capture conspirators avowed to murder the prime minister, but his only suspect is the father of a courageous lady who is growing increasingly hard to ignore. He can’t allow Jocelyn to distract him from the case, nor will he taint her with his war-darkened soul. She seems to see past the barriers surrounding his heart, which makes her all the more dangerous to his vow of remaining forever alone.
Jocelyn will do anything to clear her father’s name, even if that means working with Grant. Time is running out. The future of England hangs in the balance…and so does their love.
Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0187UXC3Q
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