Guess why I had to read this title, which is actually the sixth book in a series about James Burke, gentleman spy (or 'Bond in breeches')? Yup, the magic word! I hoped that the Scarlet Pimpernel would actually make a cameo appearance, despite the action being set in Napoleonic France, but sadly the name is only a codename in the story and a nod from the author to Orczy's books.

For all my dashed hopes, I did enjoy this story, which Tom Williams calls a 'frothy Bond-style thriller' - likeable characters, the eponymous Burke based on a real life figure, walk on parts for Empress Josephine and Minister of Police Fouché, and not too much macho fighting (although Burke does seem to lean heavily towards dispatching rather than deceiving his adversaries). Burke and his assistant William Brown accompany three agents to Paris in a bid to discover the weak link in the chain of English safe houses, which turns into a rescue mission when the agents are captured and locked up in the Conciergerie by Fouché. Empress Josephine, who has a grudge against the Minister of Police for trying to break up her marriage to Napoleon, comes to Burke's aid, while Brown falls in love with a female agent codenamed Pascale. Kudos to the author for writing strong but credible women - 'We laugh and we gossip and we still sew – but, monsieur, do not ever think that we are stupid.'

Would I trade Sir Percy for James Burke? No - but I would love them to meet in a future story! ( )