About the Book

Book: Relinquishing the Agent

Author: Lorri Dudley

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release date: April 8, 2025

Can love bloom between a woman living a lie and a man sworn to uncover the truth?

Bluestocking Rebecca Leah Prestcote would prefer to hide in a library, searching for a cure to her sister’s ailment, over participating in London’s Season. But when her wealthy cousin demands Rebecca attend a house party as her, Rebecca cannot refuse. Her cousin intends to win the affection of the Marquis of Wolston and Rebecca is, after all, a charity case. When the Marquis unexpectedly arrives at the wrong party, Rebecca must uphold the ruse, or be caught in her cousin’s lie.

Daniel Elmsley, Marquis of Wolston, cannot let another target escape, not if he plans to catch the band of body snatchers and prove his worth as a spy. But when people at Lady Coburn’s house party go missing, his mission escalates to stopping a murderer. When he intercepts a letter meant to blackmail Lady Prestcote, he begins to wonder if the beguiling beauty may be involved in the conspiracy.

Singled out for Lord Wolston’s affections, Rebecca must maintain her web of deception and evade the investigation of the captivating marquis even while he ensnares her heart.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Lorri Dudley has been a finalist in numerous writing contests and has a master’s degree in Psychology. She lives in Ashland, Massachusetts with her husband and three teenage sons, where writing romance allows her an escape from her testosterone filled household.

More from Lorri

Listed among the Regency underworld of housebreakers, Thames pirates, sneaks (pickpockets), Covent Garden nuns (prostitutes), vagrants, and ruffians are another class of evil-doers called resurrection men, also known as sack-‘em-up men or body snatchers. The dark industry of grave robbing blossomed in the early 1800s and was thrust into the public’s eye by the notorious Burke and Hare murders in 1831. While my story takes place earlier, in 1817, the laws and practices were already in place before Burke and his accomplice were arrested.

In the early 1800s, the academic field of anatomy and physiology started to break new ground with the invention of the stethoscope and the first open heart surgeries (not all successful). Many of these breakthroughs developed as a result of the dissection of human cadavers. Fresh bodies became a hot commodity, but by law, the only bodies legally designated for dissection were those of hung criminals. Demand outweighed the supply, and an underground market for grave robbing grew as academics handsomely paid resurrection men to dig up specimens. The fresher the body, the higher the earnings, which ultimately led to the ugly intent of murder.

Why would a Christian author want to write about a horrific topic like body snatching?

While my story doesn’t go into any gory details (I get woozy at the sight of blood), Rebecca and Daniel’s story allowed me to dive into the concept that we all have intrinsic worth. The victims of Burke and Hare were people society had forgotten—people who were expected to go unnoticed if they disappeared. But those victims were image bearers of God. Jesus proved their value by dying for them on the cross. They are not forgotten because God knit them together in their mother’s womb, knows every hair on their heads, and has carved their names into the palms of His hands.

Rebecca and Daniel’s love story, with mystery, espionage, and romance mixed in, demonstrates how God’s power is made perfect in weakness. While Lady Coburn’s excentric party guests and the victims of the villainous resurrection men exemplify that worth isn’t based on works, popularity, or lineage but on the sacrifice Jesus made for them.

Enjoy!

Click to watch Relinquishing the Agent’s book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4BwfvZiNLM

Interview with Lorri

What is your real-life work schedule like when writing?

I juggle being an author, working mother’s hours as a controller for my husband’s company, and being a mom of three boys (college and high school age). The three roles have kept me busy, but my boys no longer need me as much as they used to, which has freed up more writing time. I’m blessed to be able to write all day on Fridays, where I can punch out a couple thousand words if I’m not stumbling down research rabbit trails. Weekends are usually filled with kids’ sporting events and church, but I sit down each weekday morning, after my husband drags my rear-end to the gym, and write from 7:30 to 8:30. It doesn’t sound like much, but it’s the perfect time to work on smaller marketing projects or my weekly blog post (which can be read at lorridudley.com). I tend to bring my computer in my car and squeeze in editing or writing while waiting for school pickups or if the coach keeps them late after practice.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

It’s an interesting question because writing is what I do for fun, so that’s usually my answer to what I like to do. If I can’t be at my computer, then I enjoy reading. When on vacation, I can crush almost a novel a day and be loving life. I was once stopped by a TSA agent who laughed at me when he discovered I was carrying a whole backpack full of books. Even though my boys’ sports can be nerve-racking (especially wrestling, which has greatly increased my prayer life), I love supporting and cheering them on. I also enjoy painting and just finished an ocean landscape from a trip we took last year.

Do you base your characters on real people?

My characters’ personalities are unique to them, but I will pick up gestures, sayings, and quirks from people-watching. I also use famous people as inspiration for my character’s appearances. For instance, with Relinquishing the Agent, I used actress Rachel Weisz Craig (The Mummy and Enemy at the Gates) and actor Scott Eastwood (The Longest Ride and Pacific Rim) to stir my imagination. I will scour the internet for images of them in poses in which I want to envision my characters (i.e. smiling, frowning, laughing) and create a storyboard with a page for each character. I’ll print the pages and line them on my desk or wall, which does get strange looks the first time anyone walks into my office. I probably resemble something between a superfan or stalker, but the images help me envision my characters and aid my creativity.

What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?

If researching body snatching and resurrection men for Relinquishing the Agent wasn’t frightening enough, I needed a way to incapacitate someone before chloroform or anesthesia was invented, and the results from the Regency era were shocking. Surgeries were often performed while the patient was awake and tied down, with only a prior cordial or glass of wine to numb the pain or a wooden stick to bite down on. Poisons were often used as sedatives, creating the paradox of what was worse, the injury or the treatment? Dwale, an old English housewife’s anesthetic, was used to make a man sleep while under the knife or saw. It contained hemlock (a known poison), opium (a highly addictive drug), and mandrake (known to cause severe drowsiness and hallucinations). I can’t imagine how they survived the sedative, much less the surgery.

Where can readers find out more about you and your books?

Readers can learn more about me, my books, and my blog at lorridudley.com or wildheartbooks.org. My books can be purchased on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Apple Store, BookBub, and Goodreads.

Any current or upcoming projects you’d like to tell us about?

Relinquishing the Agent is the last book in the Agents of Espionage series, and I’ll miss writing from the worldview of a spy, but I’m excited to be writing a new series. The Danforth Theatre series will follow the lives of four siblings, starting with the oldest, Grant Atherton, who inherits a theatre and forms a bargain with a primer ballerina to protect herself and her innocent ballet students from the dark side of the opera-ballet theatre industry.

Blog Stops

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, April 22

Pens Pages & Pulses, April 22

Melissa’s Bookshelf, April 23

Betti Mace, April 23

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, April 24

She Lives To Read, April 25

lakesidelivingsite, April 26

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, April 26

Texas Book-aholic, April 27

Locks, Hooks and Books, April 28

For Him and My Family, April 28

Devoted To Hope, April 29

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, April 30

Book Looks by Lisa, May 1

Holly’s Book Corner, May 2

Cover Lover Book Review, May 3

Bizwings Book Blog, May 4

Pause for Tales, May 4

Stories By Gina, May 5 (Author Interview)

Roads to Everywhere, May 5

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Lorri is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/00adcf54202