The Peacock Throne

4.5 stars
An excellent mystery-adventure set in England, the Seychelles, and India in the year 1802. Exotic locales, a legendary jeweled throne to discover, and a spy of Napoleon's to discover lend this story an air of adventure nearly reminiscent of an Indiana Jones tale.

Miss Lydia Garrett is the orphan of a vicar and a disowned earl's daughter, and had been given the training of a lady before her parents died in a carriage accident. Afterward, she is sent to her cousin's home for shelter, and ends up working as a maid in the man's coffee shop, with not even belongings of her own. But when her cousin is brutally murdered, she seeks out the man who the cousin once served under—to find that man also brutally murdered, and his son Anthony ready to do anything to find the killer.

British spy Marcus Harting knows he has to catch the French agent before the tenuous international treaties unravel and the country is thrown back into war. His only lead in in these two murders, so he joins the adventure to find the Peacock Throne in order to find the French agent, who he has reason to believe is also in pursuit of it for reasons of disturbing the peace in India.

There are more murders and a kidnapping and even a thrilling sea battle. And I did not figure out who the agent was until exactly one chapter before the big reveal!

Note on genre: Yes, this author does write Christian books. However, this one is secular. The heroine has faith in God but relies upon herself for the most part, and there is not much talk of God at all. If you aren't Christian, you won't be offended, and if you are Christian, don't look for a sermon in these pages.