Amanda Quick takes a break from Victorian era England to visit the glitz and glamour of the 1930’s era. To me, it’s a fantastic murder mystery in the same vein as Agatha Christie and M.M. Kaye with the wonderful style that is none other than classic Amanda Quick. It’s an entertaining and exciting read and a good change of pace from what we’ve read in the past by AQ. As per her usual style we have a head strong female lead and the man willing to do anything to protect her as she rushes head first into dangerous situations. The two main characters I loved, Irene is a journalist trying to uncover the truth about a friends murder all the while trying to hide her past. Oliver is a retired magician (I really love that) who turned hotel resort owner. Something about Irene makes Oliver want to protect her he wants to find out the truth also but he needs to protect her even more. The side characters are very interesting also and it has me wanting this to turn into a series with them the main focus.
Anna Harris was an orphan who found herself working as a secretary for a woman of wealth, but one night Anna finds her boss dead with a message written in blood, “run”. Anna also finds her boss’ stash of money and a notebook filled with what looked like gibberish in a bag in her room along with a note saying she needs to run and take the notebook and to not trust anyone. Anna runs as far as she can go reinvents herself and takes up a job in a local gossip rag in Hollywood California. Four months later under the new name Irene Glasson, she finds herself once again the victim of circumstance. There is something fishy about up and coming actor Nick Tremayne, one of Irene’s coworkers started to uncover some dirt on him and was later found dead in her bathtub, next a former lover of Nick’s winds up dead in the pool of a celebrity getaway resort. Irene is determined to prove the Nick is behind these deaths as well as another murder up in Oregon.
Oliver just wanted a quiet life after being a world famous magician whose career ended in disaster. But the murder of an actress in his resort’s pool throws a monkey wrench in that plan especially since the journalist who found her body won’t stop sticking her nose into trouble and that her past has come back with a vengeance. Oliver is the only one who can keep her out of trouble and safe, or can he? One murder leads to the movie studio threatening Irene who ends up losing her job and home; there is another murder and several attempts on Irene’s life as she digs in deeper to Nick’s past to uncover the truth. As Irene’s past and present collide she finally has to trust someone with the truth, her growing feelings for Oliver and his devotion to his friends and family prove that he is the right one to confide in. But can he save her from her past as well as her present?
Overall, I really enjoyed this one. It had that 30’s murder mystery feel it without it being too obvious. I really hope Amanda Quick continues with this I would love to see Raina and Luther to get their own story (I’m jumping to conclusion there) and definitely want more.
**ARC provided by Publisher**
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