"The Love Letter" by Lucinda Riley

An audio book. Each section is introduced by a chess term (Castling, Stalemate, etc) plus a definition.

In the Prologue an old man, about to die, is trying to remember what he has to do. He promised to return a letter. He's so sorry.

1995. London. Sir James Harrington, greatest actor of his generation, has died. Charles is his only child. Charles' children are Zoe (an actress) and Marcus. Zoe had a child, Jamie, when she was 18. She was looked after by her grandfather after her father went abroad and her mother died. Jamie's father is a secret. Marcus is a failed film producer, short of money.

Joanna Haslun, 27, is a reporter. She goes to the funeral. She's just split with Matthew. She grew up on the Yorkshire Moors where Simon was a neighbour. He's still a friend. His partner Sarah is in New Zealand. At the funeral she meets an old lady, Rose, who has a bad turn. Joanna helps her home. Later, Joanna gets a letter from her saying that she has a dangerous secret. Rose dies. Joanna suspects murder. Her flat is ransacked. We later discover it was ransacked by MI5, and Simon works for them.

Zoe starts meeting Art. She tells him that he's Jamie's father.

Joanne interviews Marcus for her work. He invites her to the family house, where the archives are. She begins to think that Sr James changed identities. Marcus bares his soul to her. They sleep together.

Ian (Simon's boss) was at school with Marcus. He pays him to be an informaer.

On location, Zoe meets William Fielding, an old actor who was 9 when he first met Sir James. He tells her that Sir James had another name. The old actor used to give letters from Sir James to a woman called Alice, who in return gave him parcels. The old actor's flat is ransacked while he's there. He dies in hospital but not before he passes Zoe a signet ring.

Simon becomes Zoe's live-in bodyguard. She tells people that he's a relation, but when Marcus and Joanne visit she tells Joanne what she by then has worked out - that Simon's MI5. She also knows that Zoe's going out with Art - third in line to the throne. She promises not to tell her newspaper, but we know that her editor suspects there's a scoop (pressure has been put on him to suppress the story). Jamie tells Marcus a story about Ireland that Sir James told him. Marcus has been paid by MI5 to get info. When Joanne finds out she's furious.

When the news about Zoe and Art goes public, Simon is furious, thinking it was Joanne's fault. He's falling in love with Zoe - Sarah's met someone in New Zealand. Art and Zoe escape to Spain. Jamie goes missing from school. Zoe returns from Spain. Simon finds Jamie on Sir James' grave [a good scene]

Joanne follows the trail to Ireland. She learns that Sir James was there and got a girl pregnant. Simon, Ian (a drunk) and Marcus independently follow. Marcus saves Joanne from from Ian. Ian kills Marcus. Simon kills Ian.

Joanne then follows the trail to France, where Rose came from. A friend of Rose says that Sir James was employed as a double for the heir who had health problems and had to stay in Switzerland. While doing so he started sleeping with the heir's wife. When the heir was ready to resume duties, Sir James was sent to Ireland. The UK secret service hoped that the IRA would kill him - getting rid of a loose end and making the IRA more unpopular. But Sir James escaped, getting money from the government to buy his silence. He married a women from a good family who was mad and threatened to reveal Sir James past. Her death was faked - she ended up in a French sanitorium and was healthy enough eventually to attend Sir James funeral.

Joanne intends to publish the story. Simon shoots her.

Later, in Mexico, Simon meets Joanne. Her death was faked. Zoe gave up Art and is with Simon. Marcus appears - he recovered from the shooting - and pairs with Joanne. It's revealed that the heir's wife had Sir James' child so that Zoe and Art (Prince Arthur) were related.

It's an intricate plot with a few dodgy links. Enjoyable all the same.

Other reviews

• Laurie Is Reading (Because of the many characters, there is little time and space to get to know them in depth. They stay quite flat and usually character development is Riley’s strongest point. Furthermore, Joanna annoyed me a lot, because she is way too naive for her own good. This naivety can get her in serious trouble and personally I don’t think a journalist should be as naive like her.)
• She reads novels (This is a very different sort of book from Lucinda Riley…a combination of spy thriller, mystery and romance. I have to admit, I found the plot a bit far-fetched and not always very plausible, but it’s certainly a page-turner)