Now read on! This is a Gothic novel to delight fans of the genre, complete with a mysterious old house, smugglers, secret agents and codes. There is romance in it, but not enough to class the book as romantic suspense, and mainly there is adventure - something too many books lack in this reviewer’s opinion. There is a delightfully plucky but sensible and resourceful heroine to enjoy, and her friendships with the enigmatic Captain Holland and the exotic Mr Deprez. One of the things that lifts this book from the norm is Mary, with her taste for adventure, but essential prudence that prevents her falling into cliché situations. Maybe this might just turn the tide, a nice plump hardcover offered at a tempting £10? A slightly (only slightly) thinner novel might have omitted some repetition and allowed an exciting tale its head, gathering the necessary momentum which it needs. It is a little slow in places, which seems wrong for such a story, but I confess to enjoying the descriptions of 18th century travel and country life that filled in the spaces nicely between adventures.