A fun diversion with an entertaining female lead.
Oliver offers another whimsical World War I espionage escapade featuring a file clerk/spy-in-training working for British Intelligence.
It’s 1917, and Fiona Figg has recently returned from her first reconnaissance assignment in Ravenswick Abbey, where she went undercover as the fictional Dr. Vogel. Now, she’s being sent to Paris. Her orders from the War Office’s Capt. Reginald “Blinker” Hall are clear: She’s to trail Fredrick Fredricks, a famed South African hunter, acclaimed journalist, and deadly spy for Germany known as the Black Panther. She’s not to use disguises, nor is she to establish contact with Fredricks. Instead, Fiona is to be pretty much herself: a young, recent widow—never mind it was her ex-husband who succumbed to German mustard gas—visiting her great-aunt in Paris, where she’ll be staying at the Grand Hotel. The first clue that things won’t go as planned appears when readers learn that Fiona has stuffed her suitcase with a variety of costumes, wigs, and hats. On the way to Paris, she meets charming, mischievous, elegantly attired Lady Gresha MacLeod, aka the notorious Mata Hari, who, it turns out, is planning a Parisian rendezvous with Fredricks. Also on the train, to Fiona’s consternation, is Capt. Clifford Douglas, also of the War Office, who’s not supposed to know about her mission; worse, he’s staying at the Grand Hotel, as well. Obviously, Fiona’s sleuthing will require camouflage—so she becomes “Harold the helpful bellboy.” Harold, with his fake mustache, trousers that are a bit too long, and shoes two sizes too large, provides Oliver with considerable opportunity for comic relief in this sequel, which occasionally borders on the slapstick. The author also treads into Oscar Wilde territory when flirty chambermaid Berthe sets her sites on Harold. Fiona, as the first-person narrator, gives readers direct access to her frequently acerbic mental asides and social commentary along the way. In between murders and speculation about double agents, Oliver treats readers to an often amusing romp through upscale 1917 Paris, where the partying stands in stark contrast to the squalid conditions that the protagonist experiences in a Parisian jail.
A fun diversion with an entertaining female lead.Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2021
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 321
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Oct. 30, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Breezy, entertaining characters and a cheeky premise fall prey to too much explanation and an unlikely climax.
An aspiring mystery writer sets out to solve her great-aunt’s murder and inherit an estate.
Twenty-five-year-old Annie Adams has never met her great-aunt Frances, who prefers her small village to busy London. But when a mysterious letter arrives instructing Annie to come to Castle Knoll in Dorset to meet Frances and discuss her role as sole beneficiary of her great-aunt’s estate, Annie can’t resist. Unfortunately, she arrives to find Frances’ worst fears have come true: The elderly woman—who’s been haunted for decades by a fortuneteller’s prediction that this will happen—has been murdered, and her will dictates that she will leave her entire estate to Annie, but only if Annie solves her killing. It’s a cheeky if not exactly believable premise, especially since the local police don’t seem terribly opposed to it. Annie herself is an engaging presence, if a little too blind to the fact that she could be on the killer’s to-do list. Her roll call of suspects is pleasingly long, including but not limited to the local vicar, a one-time paramour of her great-aunt’s; a gardener who grows a lot more than flowers; shady developers and suspicious friends from Frances’ past; and Saxon, Annie’s crafty rival, who inherits the estate himself if he manages to solve the case first. Annie pieces together clues through readings of Frances’ journal, but the story eventually runs aground on the twin rocks of too much explanation and a flimsy climax. Cute dialogue gives way to lengthy exposition, and by the time Frances’ killer is revealed you may well be ready to leave Annie, Dorset, and Castle Knoll behind for the firmer ground of reality. Fans of cozy mysteries are likely to be more forgiving, but if you cast a skeptical eye toward amateur sleuths, this novel won’t change your mind about them.
Breezy, entertaining characters and a cheeky premise fall prey to too much explanation and an unlikely climax.Pub Date: March 26, 2024
ISBN: 9780593474013
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
A top-class cozy infused with dry wit and charming characters who draw you in and leave you wanting more, please.
Four residents of Coopers Chase, a British retirement village, compete with the police to solve a murder in this debut novel.
The Thursday Murder Club started out with a group of septuagenarians working on old murder cases culled from the files of club founder Elizabeth Best’s friend Penny Gray, a former police officer who's now comatose in the village's nursing home. Elizabeth used to have an unspecified job, possibly as a spy, that has left her with a large network of helpful sources. Joyce Meadowcroft is a former nurse who chronicles their deeds. Psychiatrist Ibrahim Arif and well-known political firebrand Ron Ritchie complete the group. They charm Police Constable Donna De Freitas, who, visiting to give a talk on safety at Coopers Chase, finds the residents sharp as tacks. Built with drug money on the grounds of a convent, Coopers Chase is a high-end development conceived by loathsome Ian Ventham and maintained by dangerous crook Tony Curran, who’s about to be fired and replaced with wary but willing Bogdan Jankowski. Ventham has big plans for the future—as soon as he’s removed the nuns' bodies from the cemetery. When Curran is murdered, DCI Chris Hudson gets the case, but Elizabeth uses her influence to get the ambitious De Freitas included, giving the Thursday Club a police source. What follows is a fascinating primer in detection as British TV personality Osman allows the members to use their diverse skills to solve a series of interconnected crimes.
A top-class cozy infused with dry wit and charming characters who draw you in and leave you wanting more, please.Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-98-488096-3
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Pamela Dorman/Viking
Review Posted Online: June 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
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