Carol sends them to me from the USA and I am so grateful to her for doing so and when I saw the familiar name and the cover, I gave up my plans for the day and just sat down and read until it was done. It is not to be missed.Īcknowledgment: Penguin Group provided a copy of India Black for this review.I simply love these books and when the latest arrived through my letterbox a few weeks ago I squealed with delight. India Black is a real treat, a most enjoyable mystery, deftly blending historical facts with a fictional story involving the titular character. There's certainly more to this mysterious man than meets the eye … and he is one enigma that both intrigues her and frightens her … just a bit. French, is both charming and cunning, an irresistible combination. She can't help but note, however, that her handler, one Mr.

Though India accepts the assignment - not that she had much choice - she looks at it as a business transaction. Which, come to think of it, was exactly what had just happened.' It comes in useful when you're haggling over the price or the services, or when the bloke you're with has turned nasty and you have to talk your way out of the situation. During her introduction to the Prime Minister, she quickly realizes that she may be holding a winning hand, but may yet lose the game: 'A whore learns early how to run a bluff. Credit India herself for keeping the reader entertained all the while, as she keeps the reader abreast of not only what's happening, but what she thinks of what's happening. The narrative proceeds at a relaxed pace, but is fast-reading nonetheless.

Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli himself - Dizzy to his friends … or maybe that's only how India thinks of him - is making the case for India to be involved, that she is uniquely qualified to retrieve the case while attending the gala event.Īnd thus begins this delightful adventure of espionage, set in 1876. That right belongs to Count Yusopov, who is currently in France but returning to London to be present a ball in his honor at the Russian embassy the following evening. A Russian agent has made off with the case in which they were contained, but the British agents following him know that he hasn't opened it yet. Sir Archibald Latham was in possession of secret government documents when he expired. Review: After a member of the House of Lords dies in the arms of one of her 'bints' - a briefcase he was carrying now missing - Madam India Black is hustled off to meet the British Prime Minister, who requests - she would say blackmails, as a more accurate term - her into retrieving it in India Black, the first mystery in this series by Carol K.

India Black by Carol K. Carr