Justine Wittich’s Chloe and the Spy is an entertaining tale of a young woman’s yearning for a more exciting life and what happens when she finds it.

Lady Chloe Lockwood is set to enjoy a very small taste of Society, but she is more intrigued by her aunt Heloise’s groom, Drury, than the gentlemen of the ton. Not only is Chloe attracted to the handsome, intensely quiet man, but she instinctively knows that he is much more than what he seems to be. In this, Chloe is right. Drury is, in fact, Adrian, Viscount Harding, an agent who is by necessity hiding his true identity because of attempts that have been made on his life. He was declared dead by the government and until those who wish him dead are discovered and dealt with, he must hide under the guise of a common groom. Adrian cannot deny that he is beguiled by the vivacious Chloe.

Soon enough though, one person and then another discovers that Adrian is alive and Chloe herself is placed in danger. Over the course of the novel, she ends up being kidnapped more than once. However, she does seem to have better intuition than either Adrian or Fitz Kent (the spy master he’s been working with) when it comes to uncovering the villains’ identity or motivations. For example, when Adrian thinks, “[t]his time they would outrun the danger,” I knew that it only meant there was a further encounter with a villain up ahead.

There are a few twists and turns in the plot, but what I liked best about this book were the characters Chloe and Adrian, and of course Aunt Heloise, with her many secrets. Chloe is a forward-thinking period heroine, who dislikes corsets and wants never to marry but instead have a life filled with adventures just like her Aunt Heloise. Chloe does not come across as a silly tomboy but instead she is immensely likable, and her attitude is understandable considering the example she has had growing up. While Adrian was likable as well, he misses several clues having to do with the constant attacks on his life.

The weak characters in Chloe and the Spy are mainly on the villain’s side. I’ve encountered wife-beaters and dog-beaters in my reading lately, but here we have a particularly annoying relative-beater who really needed a good dose of growing up. Plus there is a twist, when it comes to the villains in the book, that isn’t altogether convincing, but to provide more details would constitute a spoiler.

Despite minor annoyances in Chloe and the Spy, the characters are well-crafted in the main and there’s enough witty dialogue to spur my interest in Ms. Wittich. She’s been published before by Thomas Bouregy & Co and its Avalon line, a small publisher of “hardcover secular romances, mysteries, and westerns for the library market.” Hmmm…a trip to the library may be in order.