Sunday, May 30, 2010

Review: The Accidental Spy

My Synopsis:

The Accidental Spy by J.R. Lindermuth

(For review from the author)

Dandy Dan McCracken, charlatan, con-man, and all around rogue during the American Revolution, goes about the countryside making his own way. Dan would do just about anything for money, even impersonating a man of the cloth in order to pull off a scam. But, his life changes when he is wounded and is nursed back to health by a young woman. Unfortunately, the young woman, a ward of General Schilling, is married and her husband is off fighting, leaving her and her daughter in the General's care. Dan's affection for her continues to deepen until her husband unexpectedly returns and Dan flee's instead of trying to win her for himself.

Dan is thrown in with some people who are sympathetic to the crown and go about trying to circumvent the actions of the patriots. Anything from passing counterfeit money, to counting troops and guns, to even passing covert messages. Dan is not really a Tory and not really a rebel, doing only what he see's that will benefit himself. But, he begins to realize that his love for the young woman won't go away as he tries to free her from her terrible husband. He switches sides to protect her and becomes an accidental hero.

My Thoughts:

The Accidental Spy by J.R. Lindermuth is a novel set during the Revolutionary War. Being a big history buff, I was really interested to see how this would play out. Dan McCracken was an interesting character. A thief, a charlatan, a con-man who is eventually turned around by the love of a woman and becomes a hero in the process. Dan was a man with his wits about him, he was a man who loved having fancy clothes and things, but when he meets the love of his life he is so changed that he forgets to think of himself and thinks only of protecting and taking care of her and her child. I liked how the character developed throughout the book.

The Accidental Spy is not a long book and doesn't require the reader to think deeply about the subject. It is a great light read, set in an interesting time period. The author did a lot research to bring the story to life. The characters were interesting and it was easy to see the loyalty to the cause on both sides of the conflict. I enjoyed this book and recommend my readers, who are history enthusiasts, check it out.

The Accidental Spy by J.R. Lindermuth is available now from Amazon!

I give this one 4 out of 5 apples from my book bag!

4 comments:

Mystica said...

Thanks for the review. Hadnt heard of this book till now.

Shy said...

Despite my love in historical fiction, I've never really read war-related story before. This book sure sounds like a nice read.

throuthehaze said...

Despite the 4 apple review I will probably have to pass on reading this one...not really my thing, but great review :)

Llehn said...

I don't know if this sounds like something I would read.