In the fall of 1802, Napoleon plots an invasion of Britain in defiance of the Treaty of Amiens. A network of English spies, including an agent known as Tidewatcher, is combing Channel ports for evidence of Bonaparte's plans. As tensions escalate, a young Englishwoman becomes the key element in the cat-and-mouse game played by both sides. Lisa Chaplin (who writes romances under the name Melissa James) weaves a complicated account of espionage, romance and adventure in The Tide Watchers.
Swept off her feet by handsome Frenchman Alain Delacorte, Lisbeth Sunderland has endured months of abuse, and eventually abandonment, at the hands of her new husband. When Duncan Aylsham (aka Tidewatcher) finds Lisbeth working in a tavern in Abbeville, he proposes an unusual bargain. Lisbeth will pose as housekeeper to the brilliant American inventor Robert Fulton, whose new submersible ship and torpedo technology could prove vital to either Britain or France. In return, Duncan promises to see Lisbeth and her infant son safely back to England.
Chaplin blends fact and fiction to create a richly layered portrait of Napoleon's France, including appearances by several historical figures: politicians, spies and Bonaparte himself. But Chaplin's fictional characters, including Lisbeth, Duncan and his brothers Alec and Cal, are far more complex and intriguing. The large cast of characters grows unwieldy at times, and one or two subplots are left dangling. But The Tide Watchers is still an ambitious, fast-paced exploration of family honor, political intrigue, love and sacrifice in a rapidly changing world. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams