Gayle Callen, A Woman's Innocence - Sam Sherryington, a spy for the British government, is devastated because he has had to arrest his childhood friend Julia for a betrayal which resulted in 16,000 soldiers dying in Afghanistan. Still he did his job and she lingers in a nearby jail awaiting extradition to London to stand trial, a formality as the evidence is so overwhelming.

Still one thing bothers Sam which involves the time sequence of the death of the mother of the government's key witness, Edwin Hume. Deciding to ask Edwin a few more questions, Sam finds instead a dying man. In his last breath, Edwin tells Sam that Julia is innocent; her brother General Lewis Reed is the traitor. As Edwin dies, two constables arrive. They accuse Sam of murder to help Julia. He escapes and shortly afterward frees Julia. As they run for their lives, Julia refuses to believe her sibling would set her up like this. Sam hopes to keep them alive while seeking proof that Lewis is a traitor and a killer. He never expected to fall in love too.

This solid Victorian thriller is more an action yarn than a romance, though fans of the latter will appreciate the growing love between the lead couple. The storyline is fast-paced as Sam and Julia go on the lam with little hope of convincing authorities without concrete proof that a British general officer sold the country out; getting that proof is the fun of this tale. The ending will surprise the audience, though historical readers will know the realism of the decision that just wraps up the final tale of the "Spies and Lovers" trilogy in triumph.

Harriet Klausner