A thief, a major and secrets!

-

The Key to Deceit (Electra McDonnell #2) by Ashley Weaver    

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️



Electra (Ellie) McDonnell is on a quest. To find out if her dead mother really did kill her father. London, 1940. The war is raging, bombs are being dropped by the Germans. Major Ramsey, working for a secretive arm of the intelligence service has a job for this ex-jewellery thief and her family, her reformed safe cracking, jewel robbing family. 

The major is a man Ellie is conflicted about. She’s antagonistic in his company, can’t seem to get a handle on her responses to him, and is alarmed that she thinks about him too frequently.

The government has found their skills useful in the past. Their help is urgently needed. A dead woman has been dragged from the Thames wearing a camera disguised as a bracelet. Major Ramsey needs their skills to try and track down a probable espionage ring.

I love the tension in the plot. Ellie’s quest for information about her mother is supported by her long time friend Felix Lacey, and yet to me there’s something a little off with Felix. And what has he been doing in Scotland. 

Ellie’s unresolved feelings towards the enigmatic Major are a counterpoint of drama in the novel. The pages sizzle with understated emotion when they’re together. Ramsey obviously comes from a privileged background. As Ellie reflects, he’s the nephew of an Earl and “a toff through and through.” Mr. Darcy keeps flashing before my eyes whenever I think of him.

Ellie and her relationship with both men—Ramsey and Felix, does setup the potential for a future love triangle distraction.

BTW, thinking about attraction, I must say that I’ve found the cover of this title and the previous one quite alluring.

Another solid read from Weaver with plenty more of Ellie McDonnell to come I’m sure. I’m looking forward to the next “brick in the wall!”


A St. Martin's Press ARC via NetGalley 

Please note: Quotes taken from an advanced reading copy maybe subject to change

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Things aren’t as they seem!

-
Image
A Murderous Tryst  (Beatrice Hyde-Care Mystery #11) by Lynn Messina    ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Oh my! Bea certainly has a lot to contend with. Bea’s rattled! The Duke has been missing from their bed for a night. When a distraught Bea come downstairs the next morning she finds her beloved husband Damien clasped in the arms of a glamorous female. A female who turns out to be Kesgrave’s first mistress, Mrs. Penelope Taylor! What?! Of course Bea’s heart sinks and she falls back on her painful memories of Aunt Vera’s responses to such a situation. Bea is both shaken and traumatised, but determined not to show it.  It seems Penny has been accused of murder. Actually  Penny’s desperately trying to avoid Newgate.    As a former mistress Penny does the unthinkable thing in society’s eyes. She asks for help from Bea. Bea’s response is just as shocking. She says yes. Kesgrave is as usual inscrutable. Of course this is the beginning of a harebrained chase, complications between Bea  and Amien,  and an investiga
Read more

Women in war—Internment by the Japanese 1942-45.

-
Image
Sisters Under the Rising Sun  by Heather Morris    ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A fitting tribute to the women interred by the Japanese in Indonesia and Malaya during 1942 until liberation in 1945. Amongst the internees are a group of Australian Army nurses who were not given recognition by the Japanese as members of the armed forces and therefore not prisoners of war according to the Conventions of war.  Sister Vivian Bullwinkle is the only survivor of the massacre of a group of soldiers and nurses on Radji Beach, Bangka Island near Sumatra  in 1942, after the sinking of  HMS Vyner Brooke. There are a number of civilian prisoners in the camps like Norah Chambers and her sister Ena.  Combined, the story of these women interred under terrible conditions, their struggles and achievements are monumental.  Their gifts to their fellows beyond speech. Music plays an important part in uplifting the prisoners’ spirits. It’s truly a privilege to read about their plight, their vows to each other, and their braver
Read more

The Three Muscateers—three widows, three sets of different circumstances

-
Image
The Widows' Wine Club  by Julia Jarman    ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Different enough to be interesting but I kept losing which character was which. I almost feel I need to read it again to follow who’s who. I do know that three women came together to form a support group, going to the pub for lunch etc. Better than the local widow’s group in the church hall.  All three had recently lost their husbands and now had to find a way to face their new lives. Viv Halliday is a knowledgeable gardener. Zelda Fielding is setting herself up with internet dates and searching the web for her unknown father. Janet had a controlling husband who it turned out was having affairs, and their son is just as controlling. How their lives unfold is the new challenge. A Boldwood Books ARC via NetGalley.                                               Many thanks to the author and publisher.
Read more