Against his better judgment, Lieutenant Jeb Danvers undertakes one last secret mission for the Queen. She has made him an offer he cannot help but accept. One that will secure his financial future. But when he discovers that the jewels she has sent him to recover are in the possession of the beautiful Mariah MacFarlane, he knows the jewels aren’t the only things in need of rescue.
The Traitor’s Club: Jeb
By Laura Landon
Lieutenant Jeb Danvers is a former spy and “traitor” who has no desire to resume his work for the crown, but when Her Majesty makes him an offer that he cannot refuse, he agrees to take one last mission.
His mission is to travel to Scotland and find out who sent the Queen a jewel from a crown that was stolen years ago and assumed lost and retrieve the rest of the jewels. The package sent to the Queen was traced back to the MacFarlane clan and Jeb is expected to use his family connections to gain entrance.
Jeb’s father, the Earl of Stafford went to school with Laird MacFarlane and Jeb uses that connection to stay with him for a few days. He hopes to find the person who sent the jewels and return to England as quickly as possible.
Jeb meets Mariah MacFarlane shortly after he arrives and knows he has found the person who sent the jewel – but why? Why would Mariah turn on her own father?
Mariah MacFarlane is impressed by the Englishman sent by the Queen and out of loyalty to her English mother, she will do all she can to help him retrieve and return the jewels, but she has one condition, she goes to London with Jeb. She knows once her father learns of her deeds, there will be no going back to Scotland – – – ever.
Jeb doesn’t want Mariah to be involved, any more than she already is, but knows her life will be forfeit if she stays. Over the few days spent in her company, he has come to admire her and he cannot deny their mutual attraction, but until the jewels are safely returned to the Queen and Mariah’s father has been brought to justice, there can be no future for them.
As they travel to London, Mariah shares her reasons for turning on her father and also admits to the attraction between them, however, there is no time to explore their deeper feelings as they are being pursued by her father and his men. They narrowly escape the first attack, but are not so lucky the next time. Jeb is shot and Mariah risks her own life to save him.
They hide out at Caleb’s house and Mariah nurses Jeb back to health. They both know they are in love, but until they can find a way to keep her father away from her – there is no way they can have a real relationship. When Jeb’s father shows up at Caleb’s house, he insists that Jeb and Mariah return with him. He has a plan to draw out her father and end the standoff once and for all.
Unfortunately, things do not go as planned and Mariah is shot and in grave danger of losing her life. This is when Jeb realizes that she is the love of his life and that he cannot imagine life without her.
This was a short novella, but of the three I’ve read, this was hands down the best of the bunch. I loved this story, it is well written, flows perfectly, it has amazing depth for such a short book, it has a lot of action, some warmish love scenes, a lot of heart break, a visit from the Queen and from the other “traitors” and finally, a beautifully done HEA.
This is the third book in the series, but it could easily be read as a standalone title with no problems at all. I highly recommend this story and can’t wait for Caleb’s book!!
*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher.*
Never read a Laura Landon book I didn’t like. She is a great author
If the Queen asked you to track down some stolen jewels, would you help? Only if you were Lieutenant Jeb Danvers, part of an elite team known as the Traitor’s Club that had spied for the Crown during the war and had barely survived. But also if you needed more resources to claim your dream and the crown offered them for your service. The key was coming out alive and Jeb had all intentions if possible of accomplishing that goal. He travels to Scotland to visit Laird MacFarlane, a school friend of his fathers who is suspected of hiding the jewels. He meets Mariah MacFarlane, his daughter and finds that she is the one who had contacted the Queen.. Desperate to escape her father and get the jewels back to England, home of her deceased mother, is all that Mariah can think about. She finds out her father has nefarious plans for the money the jewels can bring and she is determined to stop him. This is where the adventure and suspense begins as Jeb and Mariah try to make it back to England without being killed. This was an action packed novella, though short packed a punch with the storyline. Laura Landon delivers again with a tale that will keep you going and make you want to read all the books in this series.