Who's That Earl, by Susanna Craig, is the first in her new Love and Let Spy series. Thomas Sutherland is a spy who, through a quirk of inheritance, suddenly becomes the Earl of Magnus, the castle near the small Scottish village where he spent summers growing up. Since he has no interest in giving up his profession, he goes to Dunnock castle to sort things out and get back to spying. However, the castle is being leased to the reclusive writer of scandalous Gothic novels, Robin Ratliffe. Robin Ratliffe, though, is none other than Jane Quayle, the girl Thomas fell for seven years ago before being called away on duty. Robin is receiving death threats, and Thomas is ideally trained to get to the bottom of the situation.
This was a really fun, quick book to read. I really enjoyed both Jane and Thomas, and the way that Susanna Craig handled the tension between them was very well done. I sympathized with both characters' struggles - Thomas being reluctant to drive a wedge between his new title and his old friends; Jane craving her independence. Jane's dogs were an adorable addition to the story as well.
The mystery of the letter-writer seemed to be wrapped up rather quickly - I would have enjoyed having more hints or a bigger glimpse into his motivation, but recognize that the true story is Jane and Thomas.
I really enjoyed Who's That Earl and will definitely be reading more by Susanna Craig!
Thanks to Kensington Books and Netgalley for the review copy!
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