A tussle over a rare volume in a bookstore is forgotten when Arianna Saybrook is asked by her husband’s uncle to attend a house party and conduct secretive observations of some of the attendees. In other words, Arianna and her husband, the Earl of Saybrook, are to undertake the role of spy for the Crown, and not for the first time.

Arianna has discovered encrypted documents hidden in the book she innocently purchased as a gift for her scholarly husband, and the two quickly match skills in working on breaking the code. When Saybrook manages to decode the secret government documents Arianna has unwittingly come across, they are both surprised and dismayed to see a close family friend named as the perpetrator of a previous crime that has had long reaching consequences.

It’s not long before Arianna and Saybrook are induced to travel to Vienna and participate in the Peace Congress, a gathering held after the exile of Napoleon to work out the details for extended peace and tranquility in Europe and Russia. After a series of close calls, the couple narrow the search for the traitor among them. Napoleon may be on Elba, but his reach far exceeds the remote island, as Arianna and Saybrook find out.

Even as this episode draws to a conclusion, the overall story takes yet another sharp twist, promising further adventures for the Earl and his Countess, as well as their Scottish friend Basil Henning. And what of the relationship between the hastily married Saybrook and Arianna now that one of them has professed their love for the other?

Espionage and diplomacy as well scripted as a Hollywood blockbuster – this series would make a great movie – make The Cocoa Conspiracy a compulsively good read. The title, cover and chocolate recipes included may make this look like a bakeshop cozy mystery, but nothing could be further from the truth! This story reads like a classic LeCarre novel, with heart pounding suspense and sword clashing action played against a plot rife with international intrigue in the Napoleonic era. Bien fait!