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A jaded spy and a shell-shocked country doctor team up to solve a murder in postwar England. James Sommers returned from the war with his nerves in tatters. All he wants is to retreat to the quiet village of his childhood and enjoy the boring, predictable life of a country doctor. The last thing in the world he needs is a handsome stranger who seems to be mixed up with the first violent death the village has seen in years. It certainly doesn't help that this stranger is the first person James has wanted to touch since before the war. The war may be over for the rest of the world, but Leo Page is still busy doing the dirty work for one of the more disreputable branches of the intelligence service. When his boss orders him to cover up a murder, Leo isn't expecting to be sent to a sleepy village. After a week of helping old ladies wind balls of yarn and flirting with a handsome doctor, Leo is in danger of forgetting what he really is and why he's there. He's in danger of feeling things he has no business feeling. A person who burns his identity after every job can't set down roots. As he starts to untangle the mess of secrets and lies that lurk behind the lace curtains of even the most peaceful-seeming of villages, Leo realizes that the truths he's about to uncover will affect his future and those of the man he's growing to care about.… (more)
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User reviews
James is a military doctor turned country surgeon after WWII was over, and Leo is a spy and an assassin and for him the war never ended. Leo is sent to the English village of Wychcomb St. Mary - the place James grew up in and retired to - to
I liked all of the residents of Wychcomb St. Mary and I liked James, but I think Leo stole the show, I loved him. The mystery was very satisfying and the romance ended in a tentative HFN that makes me want more.
The romance between James and Leo is stilted and underdeveloped. In the beginning Leo just wants a cheeky flirt and to maybe get a leg over, but by the end of the book he's willing to give up his entire life just to be with James who seems much older and much more boring. I see them not really sticking together very long so the ending left me a bit dissatisfied. Perhaps the sequel (or subsequent series) will help make this feel more believable and natural, but it's poor editing that it wasn't felt in the first book. It's saving grace is that it's under 200 pages, so a quick read, or it was in danger of being buried in my DNF graveyard.