Camille Leyland, better known as Cami, has been found out after 10 years of hiding in a quiet English village. She is a Caché, a child trained as a decoder/codebreaker by the French to infiltrate English society after the Revolution and spy for France. One day, she receives a letter that will change her life forever: the real Camille is not dead, and Cami the impostor, is being blackmailed into revealing secret codes if she wants to keep her true identity secret.

Cami is not a traitor; on her way to leave a message to the British Service offices, she is spotted by an old Caché friend, Thomas Paxton or Pax. He needs to redeem himself or else be forever branded as a traitor to England. It so happens, they are not working against each other but towards the same goal, finding the same man, but for a somewhat different purpose.

ROGUE SPY is the latest instalment in the Spymaster series, but can easily be read as a standalone. ROGUE SPY is a timeless spy novel, where shadows reign supreme, and Ms. Bourne's efficient, straightforward prose effectively conveys the thorny in- workings of a spy's life. The author has a true feel for the neverending cat and mouse games and deceit; the atmosphere is suitably dark but occasional splashes of colour occur, where the author waxes lyrical; those lighter moments when Cami and Pax reconnect and realise their childhood friendship has become deeper.

I found it intriguing how Ms. Bourne successfully and ingeniously transposed to the post French Revolution era the concept of the insertion of moles for the purpose of eventual spying, reminiscent of the Soviet era foreign spying schools. ROGUE SPY has a very intricate plot, where plot twists abound; the characters are multi- faceted and fascinating, and as the story progresses, even more sides of their already complex personalities are revealed, as well as motivations for their actions. The most seemingly innocuous discovery has reverberations that have an impact that goes far beyond the original mission. ROGUE SPY is a most captivating, and absorbing spy novel.

Book Summary

For years he’d lived a lie. It was time to tell the truth . . . even if it cost him the woman he loved.

Ten years ago he was a boy, given the name Thomas Paxton and sent by Revolutionary France to infiltrate the British Intelligence Service. Now his sense of honor brings him back to London, alone and unarmed, to confess. But instead of facing the gallows, he’s given one last impossible assignment to prove his loyalty.

Lovely, lying, former French spy Camille Leyland is dragged from her safe rural obscurity by threats and blackmail. Dusting off her spy skills, she sets out to track down a ruthless French fanatic and rescue the innocent victim he’s holding—only to find an old colleague already on the case. Pax.

Old friendship turns to new love, and as Pax and Camille’s dark secrets loom up from the past, Pax is left with a choice—go rogue from the Service or lose Camille forever...

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