{Synopsis} –Fourteen-year-old Beth Johnson is a talented and beautiful young actress. She is also a spy. The year is 1664, and Charles II is on the throne, but all is not well in the bustling city of London, and there are those who would gladly kill the king and destroy the Monarchy. One morning, a mysterious ghost ship drifts up the Thames. Sent to investigate by the King’s Master of Secrets, Alan Strange, Beth quickly finds herself embroiled in a dangerous adventure. Will Beth be able to unravel the plot to kill the King before it’s too late?
{My Thoughts} – This book was incredibly enjoyable. It takes place during 1664 when King Charles II is ruling over England. The main character is Beth and she is a spy for one of the King’s associates. Throughout the book she is sent on task after task, mostly simple missions that she feels are a waste of her skills as a spy. Towards the middle of the book she is sent on a more promising mission and things become more interesting when it comes to life and death circumstances.
Along the way she has a friend named Maisie that was introduced is a sort of younger sibling and an older woman named Moll that allows her the privilege of Boarding with Maisie above her tavern. Moll also was introduced as a mother like figure. Beth seemed to have had a rough go at life as she had been abandoned at a church as a small baby and then adopted by a nice family that had passed away when she was a young child. She was taken in by a neighbor but was treated poorly and like she was less then a person and wasn’t important in the least. When she got old enough she ran away and somehow ended up falling into the spy trade.
The biggest mission she is sent on has so many twists and turns. It begins with investigating a ship and ends with an attempt on King Charles II’s life. If you want to find out what happens with Beth on her mission and if she succeeds in saving the King’s life you will need to read the book. I personally look forward to reading book II in the series as this was a wonderful read!
Final Conclusion: 5 Star Rating.
