Undeceived- Excerpt

Good Afternoon dear readers,

I hope you had a lovely week and that your weekend will be just as good. I have lots of plans for my weekend but this time I am not reserving a lot of time for reading, which means my TBR pile keeps growing and growing.

Luckily today I’m bringing you an excerpt of a book I have already read, so I don’t feel so bad with myself 🙂 I’m talking about Undeceived by Karen M Cox which was just re-released this week.

This book has a beautiful new cover but the story remains just as engaging for those who love a good spy story. If you like this genre, take a sneak peek at the excerpt, I believe it will convince you to acquire the book if you haven’t done it already 🙂 Oh… Have I mentioned that due to the re-release it is still on sale at Amazon for 0,99$? 😉

 

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…if I endeavor to undeceive people as to the rest of his conduct, who will believe me?

–Pride & Prejudice, Chapter 40

 

Elizabeth Bennet, a rookie counterintelligence officer, lands an intriguing first assignment—investigating the CIA’s legendary William Darcy, who is suspected of being a double agent.

Darcy’s charmed existence seems at an end as he fights for his career and struggles against his love for the young woman he doesn’t know is watching his every move.

Elizabeth’s confidence dissolves as nothing is like she planned—and the more she discovers about Darcy, the more she finds herself in an ever-tightening web of danger.

Unexpected twists abound in this suspenseful Cold War era romance inspired by Jane Austen’s classic tale.

 

First Edition Reviews:

“Just when you think you figured it out, you’re wrong!!” – Amazon Review

“One of the slickest Pride & Prejudice variations I have ever had the pleasure of reading.” – Just Jane 1813

“…a who-done-it page turner…” – Amazon Review

“It’s dexterous writing, with a smart premise. Undeceived is unique…” – Amazon Review

“…an incredibly unique and riveting tale.” – Austenesque Reviews

 

 

 

 

You can find Undeceived at:

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

 

 

 

 

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Thanks, Rita, for inviting me back to From Pemberley to Milton! Today, I’m sharing an excerpt from my re-release of Undeceived: Pride and Prejudice in the Spy Game.

Our favorite couple have a little bit of history by this point. Darcy has had a second mission blow up in his face and now finds himself in East Berlin with non-official cover—a definite step down from his place as Prague chief of station. He’s discovered that his colleague from Hungary is also in town, and he’s finding it hard to stay away…

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East Berlin, Germany

August 1982

Applause thundered through the theater. Liam Reynolds glanced at the man next to him, and after exchanging looks, they both rose to join in the ovation. From his third row seat, he saw all the actors as they came up to take their bows. His eyes were riveted, however, to one Beth Steventon, known to him now as Elizabeth Bennet, his translator and fellow CIA officer from Budapest. She was right when she told him she’d never be Liz Hertford again, just as he would never be the smooth American businessman Darby Kent again. New city, new assignment, new pocket litter in his jacket—scribblings, tickets, and cards to convince the Stasi about the veracity of this new life.

New assignment but not where he wanted to be. Liam was frustrated with his lack of progress toward the top post in the USSR. East Berlin was on the front lines of the so-called Cold War, but he was still a case officer with a non-official cover, what the career embassy officers called a “damned NOC.”

Beth avoided eye contact with him in his third row as she should; they were supposed to be strangers. But somehow, he took a perverse pleasure in trying to draw her attention.

Last week, Reynolds was floored when he walked into the British Embassy and saw Beth chatting up his longtime friend and MI6 contact, Richard Fitzwilliam. Honestly, Liam assumed he’d probably never see Beth again after they parted ways in Vienna. Yet there they were, starring in their very own Casablanca moment. His lips quirked into a wry smile, thinking “of all the gin joints,” etc.

Her hair was different, shorter, a new auburn color—becoming but not too conspicuous. She laughed heartily at something Fitzwilliam said, making Liam’s insides twist in an odd way.

“Reynolds!” Fitzwilliam called him over with a wave.

He approached the pair, waiting to see whether she could cover her surprise at seeing him in East Germany, assessing her poise. He was oddly disappointed when she turned to face him without a hint of recognition whatsoever.

“Fitz,” he acknowledged his friend. “How’s the BBC?”

“Good, good. Glad to see you. What brings you to East Berlin?”

“I’ve got a traveling position, working for the Goodwin Theater Company—looking for new ideas, fresh talent.”

“How long will you be here?”

“Unknown. Depends on what I find, I guess.”

“I guess.” Fitzwilliam’s eyes twinkled. As if suddenly remembering he wasn’t alone, he turned and gently took the elbow of the woman next to him. “Speaking of fresh talent, I’d like you to meet Beth Steventon. She’s an Oxford grad student on a theater fellowship at Humboldt University this semester. Beth, my friend, Liam Reynolds.”

She held out her hand. “Pleased to meet you.”

When their hands joined, he felt the old familiar tingle in his arm, the same one he felt when he first spun her around the dance floor in Budapest. That instant spark, unfortunately, hadn’t dulled at all. He rubbed his palm with his other hand to try and displace the feeling.

“Beth is a dancer in the new show at Rosengarten.”

“Oh?” He’d had no idea she could dance well enough for professional stage work.

“It’s a small role.” She looked away as if to downplay her part. “Just an extra really. But that’s what you expect when you’re a student—and an outsider. It’s been a good learning experience.”

“I’ll have to look for you when I attend the show on opening night.”

Fitzwilliam jumped in. “Liam’s organization, the Goodwin Theater Company, is one of the oldest in the States.”

“I’m familiar with the name,” she answered. “You’ll have to let me know what you think of Stolz und Vorurteil, Liam.” She twisted the ring on her finger, a well-established signal she was giving him a message with her next words. “The female lead is a talented actress. Make sure you see the show—for her performance if nothing else.”

“I will.”

“I’d be curious to know what you think of her and the play in general. I hear they’re having a cast and crew party to celebrate opening night. You could keep her out of trouble; ask her to dance.”

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Karen M Cox is an award-winning author of five novels accented with history and romance: 1932, Find Wonder in All Things, Undeceived, I Could Write a Book, and Son of a Preacher Man, and a novella, The Journey Home, a companion piece to 1932. She also loves writing short stories and has contributed to four Austen-inspired anthologies: “Northanger Revisited 2015” appears in Sun-Kissed: Effusions of Summer, “I, Darcy” in The Darcy Monologues, “An Honest Man” in Dangerous to Know: Jane Austen’s Rakes and Gentleman Rogues, and “A Nominal Mistress” in Rational Creatures.

Karen was born in Everett WA, which was the result of coming into the world as the daughter of a United States Air Force Officer. She had a nomadic childhood, with stints in North Dakota, Tennessee, and New York State before settling in her family’s home state of Kentucky at the age of eleven. She lives in a quiet little Central Kentucky town with her husband, where she works as a pediatric speech pathologist, encourages her children, and spoils her granddaughter.

Channeling Jane Austen’s Emma, Karen has let a plethora of interests lead her to begin many hobbies and projects she doesn’t quite finish, but she aspires to be a great reader and an excellent walker—like Elizabeth Bennet.

 

Connect with Karen:

www.karenmcox.com

https://www.instagram.com/karenmcox1932/

https://twitter.com/KarenMCox1932

https://www.facebook.com/karenmcox1932

https://karenmcox.tumblr.com/

https://www.pinterest.com/karenmc1932/

 

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