Tracy Grant – författare

A husband and wife must navigate society scandals and international espionage in this thrilling Regency romance.In the glittering world of Regency London, where gossip is exchanged—and reputations ruined—with the tilt of a fan, Mélanie Fraser is the perfect wife. Devoted to her husband, Charles, the grandson of a duke, she is acknowledged as society’s most charming hostess. But just as the elegant façade of Regency London hides a dark side, Mélanie is not what she seems. As a former spy during the Napoleonic Wars, she has a secret that could destroy her perfect jewel-box life forever . . . To keep her secret hidden, she must find an exquisite heirloom ring surrounded by legend and power. The search will pull Mélanie and Charles into a gritty underworld of gin-soaked brothels, elegant gaming hells, and debtors’ prisons. In this maze of intrigue, deception is second nature and betrayal can come far too easily . . .

“Plot twists, complex characters, and an exquisitely researched historical setting—who could ask for anything more?" –Lauren Willig, New York Times Bestselling Author“What a feast for the mystery and romance fan alike!” –Romantic Times“Adventure, suspense, romance, passion, tragedy. Tracy Grant combines them all beautifully to form a compelling and expertly crafted story.” –The Best ReviewsThe task had taken shape thanks to the inconvenient way secrets had of bubbling to the surface. It went without saying that it was going to be difficult. But then, murder always was…The London docks, 1817.Beneath a silent moon, a mysterious exile slips back into the city to complete a nefarious mission that began decades before.On that same night, London''s titled, wealthy and beautiful waltz the night away at Glenister House. Among the guests aristocratic Charles Fraser, a former spy recently returned from the Napoleonic Wars, and his bride Mélanie, who has charmed London society but hides her own secrets. In the brilliance of Mayfair, a visitor from their past pulls Charles and Mélanie back into the world of danger and espionage they thought they had left behind. But this time, the intrigues are rooted in Charles''s complex and troubled family. An assassination, a secret society, and the dangerous liaisons of the Fraser family lead Charles and Mélanie from the glittering ballrooms and shadowy streets of London to the Fraser estate on the Scottish coast. This is a deadly game that could shake the fate of nations: but for Charles, the stakes are the lives of those he holds most dear, and the love of the enigmatic woman who shares his name...and his bed.

A Malcolm & Suzanne Rannoch MysteryIn the elegant environs of Mayfair, Malcolm and Suzanne Rannoch live a seemingly charmed life. Malcolm, a former diplomatic attaché and intelligence agent, is a rising Member of Parliament. Suzanne is fast becoming one of London’s most sought hostesses. But even their closest friends don’t know that the Rannoch’s marriage is still reeling from the revelation that Suzanne was a French spy when she met British agent Malcolm and that she married him to gather information on British plans. Malcolm and Suzanne are hoping for private time to repair their marriage. But their peace is shattered by a late night visit from a Bow Street runner. The powerful Duke of Trenchard has been found murdered in the study of his St. James’s Square house. And Laura Dudley, governess to the Rannoch children, was standing over the dying duke.Malcolm and Suzanne are convinced the woman they trusted with their children is not a killer. To prove Laura’s innocence, they are drawn into an investigation that will test their wits and the fragile truce between them. But whether or not she murdered the Duke of Trenchard, Laura Dudley is certainly not what she seemed. Revelations about her identity cut dangerously close to Suzanne’s own past. Malcolm and Suzanne realize more is at stake than Laura’s life and liberty. The investigation into the Duke of Trenchard’s murder will either prove the resilience of their bond–or snap it in two."Shimmers like the finest salons in Vienna." —Deborah Crombie"Meticulous, delightful, and full of surprises." —Tasha Alexander"Glittering balls, deadly intrigue, sexual scandals. . .the next best thing to actually being there!"—Lauren Willig"A superb storyteller."—Deanna Raybourn

A Malcolm & Suzanne Rannoch Historical Mystery NovellaA year and a half after entering her unusual marriage of convenience to British attaché and intelligence agent, Malcolm Rannoch, Suzanne Rannoch pays her first visit to her husband''s home. England: the country her husband fled for reasons she does not fully understand; the country Suzanne has secretly spent the last five years fighting against as a French spy.The trip takes Suzanne and her husband to the heart of London society—the world Malcolm grew up in. A glamorous labyrinth of unwritten rules and unvoiced codes. Yet the glittering ballrooms of London are not free of the intrigues of the Napoleonic Wars. The search for stolen papers that could tip the international balance of power pits Malcolm and Suzanne against each other. Suzanne faces a stark choice between her loyalty to her cause and her love for the man she married—in order to spy on him."Shimmers like the finest salons in Vienna." —Deborah Crombie "Meticulous, delightful, and full of surprises." —Tasha Alexander "Glittering balls, deadly intrigue, sexual scandals. . .the next best thing to actually being there!"—Lauren Willig"A superb storyteller."—Deanna Raybourn

Former spies Malcolm and Mélanie Suzanne Rannoch return to Dunmykel Castle in Scotland in response to a secret summons from Malcolm''s grandfather, the Duke of Strathdon. The duke has a plan that will allow the Rannochs to resume their former life in Britain. Malcolm, worried that Mélanie could face treason charges for her past as a French spy, wants nothing more than to take his family safely back to Italy. But when Malcolm''s sister Gisèle disappears from Dunmykel, Malcolm instead find himself doing the one thing he didn''t want to do—risking a return to London in search of his missing sister. Meanwhile in Scotland, Mélanie uncovers information that connects her own shadowy past with Gisèle''s disappearance, which sends Mélanie off on a quest of her own. As they unravel the tangled threads, Malcolm and Mélanie learn Gisèle''s disappearance is part of a dangerous game involving two old enemies and the highest reaches of Britain''s government. The stakes rise still higher when one of their enemies is arrested for murder. From snowy Scotland to glittering Mayfair drawing rooms and the stews of St. Giles, the Rannochs unearth a conspiracy that could topple kings—and shake their family to the core…"Shimmers like the finest salons in Vienna." —Deborah Crombie"Meticulous, delightful, and full of surprises." —Tasha Alexander"Glittering balls, deadly intrigue, sexual scandals. . .the next best thing to actually being there!"— Lauren Willig

Glittering chandeliers reveal dark secretsFormer spies and London society favorites Malcolm and Mélanie Suzanne Rannoch are back home, and delighted that their dear friends, Raoul O''Roarke and Laura Tarrington, are finally free to marry. But what should be an occasion for joy is soon/quickly marred by a blackmail attempt. To aid an old friend, the Rannochs must resume a life of espionage and adventure, facing an attack at the London docks and infiltrating a Mayfair ball in disguise to retrieve stolen letters. They soon realize the stolen documents they seek could upend the British government—and the secrets Malcolm and Mélanie uncover hit unexpectedly—and dangerously—close to home…"Shimmers like the finest salons in Vienna." —Deborah Crombie"Meticulous, delightful, and full of surprises." —Tasha Alexander"Glittering balls, deadly intrigue, sexual scandals. . .the next best thing to actually being there!"— Lauren Willig"A superb storyteller."— Deanna

Every spy has a past. But Mélanie Suzanne Rannoch is not prepared to meet her husband Malcolm’s past literally walking towards them across a candlelit Mayfair ballroom in the person of brilliant, stunning Katelina Ashford, Malcolm’s first love. Nor is she prepared to find that Kitty is a former agent herself, who has come to London seeking Malcolm’s help. Mélanie, who misses her own past as a spy, always relishes the intrigue of espionage. But even as Kitty’s secret mission unsettles London society, it leaves Mélanie questioning her own assumptions about the man whose name and bed she has shared for seven years.The quest that has brought Kitty to London began in Spain in the tumult of the Napoleonic Wars, but it stretches into some of Britain’s most powerful families. From the gritty bustle of Bow Street to the scandalous grottos of Vauxhall, the Rannochs find themselves involved in a search for a mysterious operative known as the Goshawk, a painting that holds the key to unraveling a long-buried secret history, and a fiendishly clever killer working very much in the present. But even as they try to keep the revelations from overturning vital alliances and smashing the lives of their closest friends, Mélanie and Malcolm discover the greatest danger may be to their own personal alliance."Shimmers like the finest salons in Vienna." —Deborah Crombie"Meticulous, delightful, and full of surprises." —Tasha Alexander"Glittering balls, deadly intrigue, sexual scandals. . .the next best thing to actually being there!"— Lauren Willig"A superb storyteller."— Deanna Raybourn

The Rannoch Fraser Mysteries #18London, December, 1819. After their recent adventures, former spies Malcolm and Mélanie Rannoch are looking forward to spending a quiet holiday season with friends and family. The greatest danger seems to be Mélanie''s scandalous debut in a Christmas pantomime, which has shocked Mayfair’s elite. But when an old friend smuggles a fugitive from the Continent into the theatre on opening night, the Rannochs find themselves facing both government agents and a mysterious assassin. As they infiltrate secret meetings, intercept coded documents, and reunite estranged lovers, they quickly realize nothing is quite what it seems. At least, as Mélanie tells her husband, they are spending the holidays with those closest to them—even if they aren’t sure they can trust their nearest and dearest..."Shimmers like the finest salons in Vienna." —Deborah Crombie"Glittering balls, deadly intrigue, sexual scandals. . .the next best thing to actually being there!"— Lauren Willig"A superb storyteller."— Deanna Raybourn

London, 1820. Britain and Continental Europe teeter on the edge of upheaval, but Mélanie Rannoch tells herself she’s left behind the dangers of the spy game and the sometimes equally-perilous intrigues of London society as she prepares for the premiere of her first play.Until her children stumble upon the body of the Hon. Lewis Thornsby in the wings of the Tavistock Theatre. Suddenly, Mélanie and her husband, Malcolm, plunge into an investigation that cuts closer to their former life of espionage than they would have thought possible. Thornsby, a seemingly guileless young man about town, was part of the Levellers, a secret group of reformers whose leader is a friend of the Rannochs. A paper on Thornsby’s body hints at a plot to assassinate a member of the royal family.Was Thornsby the would-be assassin or was he killed because he had learned too much? Is the plot genuine or an attempt to entrap and discredit the Levellers? As their investigation takes them from gin-soaked Covent Garden alleys to Mayfair drawing rooms, the Rannochs learn Lewis Thornsby was not at all what he seemed. Whether his death is tied to the assassination, the pretty young actress he was willing to give up his fortune for, or his unexpected links to the Continent, someone was very determined he take his secrets to the grave. And if Mélanie and Malcolm can’t uncover those secrets, their fate (along with that of their closest friends and Britain itself) may be in deadly peril.

A Rannoch Fraser Mysteries novellaOctober 1820. As London simmers over the scandalous royal divorce trial, a pistol shot aimed at the Duke of Wellington''s carriage shatters the peace of the autumn night. When Malcolm and Mélanie Rannoch learn their friend Robby Simcox has been arrested for the crime, they are convinced it is a miscarriage of justice, but it will require all their resources as former spies to uncover the truth. The race against time to save Robby from the gallows takes the Rannochs across the breadth of London, from the slums of St. Giles to elegant Mayfair to lively Covent Garden, and to Wellington''s glittering home at Apsley House. But the culprit proves cleverly elusive. The consequences of their investigation could rip Robby''s sister Bet from her aristocratic true love–and may also reveal secrets that threaten all Malcolm and Mélanie hold dear...

In post-Regency London, dynamic former spies Malcolm Rannoch and his elegant wife Mélanie chase devastating secrets tied to the scandalous royal divorce trial.London, October 1820. Queen Caroline''s divorce trial makes the House of Lords as crowded as a London ballroom—but far more deadly, as Mélanie discovers when she literally stumbles over a body while threading her way through the crush. More shockingly, she recognizes the victim as her friend Cordelia Davenport’s former lover, George Chase, who recently fled England in disgrace. Mélanie is unable to save him but hears him say "Cordelia" with his dying breath. No one knows why George returned to England. But just before he was killed, he was trying to get a message to the prime minister saying he had vital information about the royal divorce.Mélanie and Malcolm plunge into an investigation that could shatter the lives of their closest friends and topple the British government. From hushed Whitehall council rooms to gin-soaked Covent Garden taverns, exclusive St. James''s clubs, and Mayfair masquerade balls, they follow a twisting trail of family secrets and royal intrigue. As former spies, they expect the unexpected. But nothing has prepared them for a cascade of revelations that forces them to question everything they know—including their own future.

June 1820. Britain’s former prince regent, now George IV, is determined to divorce his estranged wife, Queen Caroline, and the coming trial is the talk of London, from Mayfair to Westminster to Seven Dials, dredging up scandalous details and pitting Whigs against Tories in a battle for power. When former spies Malcolm and Mélanie Rannoch learn their enemies in the mysterious Elsinore League are trying to sell letters that could prove key at the trial, the Rannochs are determined to intercept these vital papers before they can be used against Queen Caroline.The exchange is to take place in the candlelit splendor of Carfax House, at the first ball Malcolm and Mélanie’s friends Julien and Kitty are giving in their new roles as Lord and Lady Carfax. But Malcolm and Mélanie aren’t the only ones determined to intercept the letters. Amidst a night of champagne and waltzing, Mélanie and Malcolm find themselves entrapped in an intrigue that may be as deadly as any they faced in the Napoleonic Wars...

Autumn 1820. From Mayfair to Covent Garden to Seven Dials, London is in an uproar over George IV''s (the former prince regent) attempts to divorce his wife Queen Caroline. And nowhere is the crisis more intense than in Westminster where the royal divorce is playing out in the House of Lords.In this tense atmosphere, former spies Malcolm and Mélanie Rannoch go on an undercover mission in a brothel that leads to a brawl--and the murder of the man they were tracking. The victim, Captain James Blayney, was selling the memoirs of a notorious courtesan, whose lovers may include Napoleon Bonaparte, the Duke of Wellington, and key noblemen involved in the royal divorce trial. The missing memoirs may also hold crucial information about the Elsinore League, the powerful organization the Rannochs have been battling for years.As revelations mount, Malcolm and Mélanie uncover the secretsof some of the most powerful people in Europe. The future of the British monarchy hangs in the balance. But as the Rannochs unravel the clues in the memoirs, they realize that the consequences for the royal family may be nothing compared to the consequences for their own...

It is a truth universally acknowledged that the life of a former spy cannot remain quiet for long.London, December 1820. Former spies Malcolm and Mélanie Rannoch are hosting a small party and looking forward to an intrigue-free holiday season when their friend, Thomas Thornsby, turns up dripping wet on the doorstep of their Berkeley Square house.Not only is Thomas clearly overwrought, his arrival is particularly awkward. Thomas is newly betrothed to an heiress. Edith Simmons, the woman he wished to marry — if not for lack of fortune — is one of the Rannochs’ guests that evening. But Thomas says he had no one else to turn to. His fiancée, the decorous Marianne Schofield, has vanished without a trace from a Mayfair holiday ball.Always willing to help a friend, the Rannochs don evening attire and join the elegant gathering. Amidst the holiday revelry they find that Thomas''s seemingly perfect betrothed has secrets of her own. As they uncover layers of mystery, Mélanie and Malcolm realize some of the plots being hatched beneath the mistletoe may prove deadly.

London, 1821. Former spies Malcolm and Mélanie Rannoch have been friends with Bow Street runner Jeremy Roth since they all met in the intrigues of the Peninsular War. Now settled in London, they frequently collaborate. On a chilly night, an urgent summons from Roth takes Malcolm to a tavern in the slums of Seven Dials. He finds Roth standing over the body of a murdered woman. Malcolm offers his assistance with the case, but Roth says Malcolm must investigate alone. When Malcolm asks why, Roth replies—because this is my wife.Malcolm and Mélanie plunge into the secrets of Roth’s estranged wife Allegra. Why did she disappear from England? Where has she been for five years? And why did she return now to the husband she abandoned? Their investigation is a race against time as another Bow Street runner is all too eager to arrest Roth for the murder. And though Malcolm and Mélanie are both convinced Jeremy Roth is not a killer, his story keeps changing.Secrets are nothing new for the Rannochs. But this investigation will force them to question everything they thought they knew about some of those closest to them. And to re-examine the secrets at the heart of their own marriage—before someone else they love falls victim...

Mayfair’s latest scandal sets Regency London’s former power couple — and spies -- Malcolm and Mélanie Rannoch on a perilous new adventure.London, March 1821. Ralph Allam, a barkeep and thief from London’s notorious Seven Dials, finds his world upended when he learns he is the heir to an earldom. But proving his claim to the title is as complicated as any spy mission. Former agents Malcolm and Mélanie Rannoch no longer live their lives at the heart of the beau monde. But neither can resist the call of adventure, and they are determined to help Ralph.To uncover evidence that will support Ralph’s claim, the Rannochs go undercover at a musicale hosted by a duchess who rules Mayfair society. London’s most talked about composer (as notorious for his scandalous love affairs as for his compositions) is performing a new work at this glittering event, and everyone is vying for invitations. Amid the shimmering candlelight and strains of piano music, Mélanie and Malcolm face old and new enemies. As they uncover secrets and face betrayals, the Rannochs discover proving Ralph’s claim to the Ackerley inheritance is a twisted and deadly game.