Two Minute Review: India Black In the City of Light by Carol K. Carr

Title: India Black In the City of Light
Author: Carol K. Carr
Genre: historical fiction,  mystery
Series: Madam of Espionage #3.5
Pages: 65
Published: October 2013
Source: purchased
Rating: 3.5/5

When it comes to undercover work, nobody does it better than Madam of Espionage India Black...
 
India and the handsome British spy, French, are ordered to escort a Russian agent to Paris where he will be exchanged for one of Her Majesty’s operatives. The task seems straightforward and India looks forward to enjoying the delights of the city—and the delights of French.
 
But it isn’t long before things go awry and the duo are battling for their lives in the City of Light.
  
Includes a preview of the Madame of Espionage Mystery, India Black and The Gentleman Thief.

I love these books and this series for a lot of reasons (snarky/sarcastic humor, loads of action, great characters, cleverly constructed mysteries) but I can't deny another chance to ship my ship is also a big factor. It's a pretty superficial bit of fiction, meant more to intrigue readers in the other novels, but French and India are in top form no matter how long the story. Of the two novellas in the series (the other being India Black and the Rajah's Ruby) this latest effort feels more like a complete story than its predecessor.

French and India are one of my top teams in any kind of fiction. If they could solve crime alongside Books and Braun from Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences series and Wayne and Wax from Alloy of Law, it would be an unstoppable team. But I digress. The point is, any time spent with these two characters is fun and India Black in the City of Light is a 65 page novella devoted to fanservice for Frendia shippers. They banter, they snark, they save each other's lives from those Slavic antagonists, the Russians.

The plot here is rather minimal and the twist not entirely unpredictable, but only Carol K. Carr can make me rate a novella more than 3-stars. Her characters come alive and it's more than worth the few dollars to buy this fun and entertaining short story. It's the perfect bookish tease -- there's just enough of everything to make fans want to jump into the fourth full-length novel India Black and the Gentleman Thief as soon as possible.