While her famous employer is happily back home at Mallowan Hall, wrestling with her Belgian detective’s dilemma on board the Orient Express, Phyllida is finding her local renown as a sleuth has put her in high demand. A distraught Vera Rollingbroke suspects her husband of infidelity and has invited Phyllida to a dinner party to observe his behavior, particularly in regard to one Genevra Blastwick.
What she does observe at the party is that Genevra craves attention, in contrast to her shy sister Ethel. Genevra introduces a game called Two Truths and a Lie, and one of her questionable statements is that she once witnessed a murder. At this bold claim, the guests react with disbelief and pepper her with questions. Genevra remains cagey, withholding details, but insists this is not her lie.
The next morning Phyllida learns poor Ethel was purposely run down by a motorcar the previous night while inexplicably walking home alone from the party. She fears Genevra may have been the target, which means someone at the party is a killer—twice over. A chilling thought. With Genevra in potential danger—and Inspector Cork proceeding ponderously as usual—Phyllida takes it upon herself to unmask the killer. With two murders to solve, she will need to grill Genevra and the guests as well as re-examine any past sudden deaths or disappearances. And if she’s smart, she’ll look twice before crossing the road . . .
TWO TRUTHS AND A MURDER (A Phyllida Bright Mystery Book #5) by Colleen Cambridge is another intricately plotted historical mystery in this fun and intriguing series featuring Agatha Christie’s housekeeper and friend, Phyllida Bright, who seems to have a penchant for solving murders. While you can read each book in the series as a standalone with a complete whodunit crime plot, I feel they are best read in order of publication to follow the evolution of all the recurring characters.
When Agatha and Phyillda return to Mallowan Hall after their trip to London, Phyllida is surprised by a visit from Vera Rollingbroke, who is looking for her and not Agatha. She is afraid her husband is having an affair and wishes Phyllida to investigate the matter at a coming dinner party at their manor. After dinner, Genevra Blastwick pulls everyone into a game called Two Truths and a Lie. When she takes the first turn, after her shy sister, Ethel demurs, Genevra announces she has witnessed a murder and swears this is not her lie. The guests react with disbelief, and the party soon breaks up.
The next morning Phyllida learns Ethel was purposefully run over by a motorcar. Phyllida believes Ethel died mistaken for her sister and is asked by the Blastwick’s to look into Ethel’s murder. What she learns as she begins to investigate is that this murder may be tied to a previous death in the village, but which one? Questioning everyone at the dinner party, she begins to discover secrets and lies that someone does not want to be revealed and Phyllida soon finds herself in danger.
I thoroughly enjoy this series and find Phyllida a wonderful lead character and amateur sleuth. While she may seem prickly, she is intelligent, inquisitive, has a large heart, and is extremely loyal. I found the mystery plot intriguing and well plotted throughout to keep me turning the pages. It was twisted and when I was expecting one crime, it branched off into two crimes and mysteries for Phyllida to solve. I also enjoyed the continuing romance between Phyllida and Bradford. Both still have many secrets that can be revealed, but you know the other servants know what is going on between the two even if Phyllida refuses to believe it.
I highly recommend this compelling historical mystery addition to this endearing series.
***
About the Author
Colleen Cambridge is the pen name for an award-winning, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. From a young age, Colleen has loved reading mysteries and now she couldn’t be happier that she is able to write them.
Under several pseudonyms, she has written more than 36 books in a variety of genres and is always plotting her next murder—er, book.
In the hours before dawn at a local summer camp, Bureau of Indian Affairs archaeologist Syd Walker receives an alarming call: newly discovered skeletal remains have been stolen. Not only have bones gone missing, but a Native teen girl has disappeared near the camp, and law enforcement dismisses her family’s fears.
As Syd investigates both crimes, she’s drawn into a world of privileged campers and their wealthy parents—most of them members of the Founders Society, an exclusive club whose members trace their lineage to the first colonists and claim ancestral rights to the land, despite fierce objections from the local tribal community. And it’s not the first time something—or someone—has gone missing from the camp.
The deeper Syd digs, the more she realizes these aren’t isolated incidents. A pattern of disappearances stretches back generations, all leading to the Founders Society’s doorstep. But exposing the truth means confronting not just the town’s most powerful families, but also a legacy of violence that refuses to stay buried.
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Elise’s Thoughts
The Bone Thief by Vanessa Lillie blends history with fiction.
In the hours before dawn at a local summer camp, Bureau of Indian Affairs archaeologist Syd Walker receives an alarming call: newly discovered skeletal remains have been stolen. Not only have bones gone missing, but a Native teen girl has disappeared near the camp, and law enforcement dismisses her family’s fears.
As Syd investigates both crimes, she’s drawn into a world of privileged campers and their wealthy parents, most of them members of the Founders Society, an exclusive club whose members trace their lineage to the first colonists. They claim ancestral rights to the land, despite fierce objections from the local tribal community.
The deeper Syd digs, the more she realizes these aren’t isolated incidents. A pattern of disappearances stretches back generations, all leading to the Founders Society’s doorstep. But exposing the truth means confronting not just the town’s most powerful families, but also a legacy of violence that refuses to stay buried.
This story is multi-layered and intertwines culture, history, and suspense.
***
Author Interview
Elise Cooper: Idea for the story?
Vanessa Lillie: I moved to Rhode Island in 2011 which is the setting of this book. The first book in the series, Blood Sisters, was set where I am originally from, Oklahoma. I made friends with those in this tribe and attended a Pow Wow, the oldest continuing Pow Wow in the country. There is a lot of history of here. I am Cherokee but did think about the history of the Narragansett Tribe. It is interesting of a writer to come in with my own Cherokee background and look at this tribe through my own lens. I have Syd Walker, my main character, an archeologist, sent there to investigate the remains found that were tied to the Great Swamp Massacre. She also finds that a Narragansett teenage girl is missing. It will all come together.
EC: What was the role of the Warden Journal?
VL: There are a lot of journals and texts from colonial days. I studied about the Massacre. The journal to me represented the historical perspective of the period and draw the reader back to those days.
EC: Why the opening quote?
VL: Maria Pearson was one of the first people who questioned why the remains are dug out and put on shelves and not treated with the same respect as white people. I decided this quote resonated with the story. Archeology has deep roots in colonialism. Family members buried their dead in the ground with the intention that is where they would stay. People who do not even understand the life they lived, dug them up and put them on a shelf with no context. There are a lot of remains that are in a museum and have not been returned to the tribes.
EC: Has Luna from the first book changed since she achieved freedom?
VL: Yes. In this book she has a chance of having freedom, joy, and hope. She is no longer captive but does have a lot of traumas from it. In this book she is trying to find purpose. Her background story is how she is trying to fit in a world that she has not really been a part of for a long time. Her narrative is to connect with her daughter and Syd. I wanted to make it realistic, so I did not make it an easy road for her. She realizes she is good at investigating and surviving.
EC: Is it true that Indigenouschildren were taken out of their community?
VL: Yes. There was a law that was enacted, ICWA (the Indian and Child Welfare Act). Religious people were taking the children out and giving them to white families to adopt. I have friends on that journey where they are trying to reconnect.
EC: Was Bud a good person or a bad person?
VL: Everyone is grey in my books. He is a man of his times. He thought working with the Founder’s Society and the children at the camp was his job. Syd is the next generation of archeologists in BIA who sees her job as being more engaged with the tribal community. Bud saw his job to be engaged with the white communities. By the end he did try to redeem himself and pushed back.
EC: Next book?
VL: Hopefully there will be more. I am also working on a stand-alone thriller set in Oklahoma.
THANK YOU!!
***
BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.
Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for SERVES YOU RIGHT (Sydney Livingstone Detective Series Book #2) by Orion Gregory on this Book Amplifier Tour for AME.
Below you will find a book description, my book review, an excerpt from the book, an about the author section and social media. Enjoy!
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Book Description
In Serves You Right by Orion Gregory, justice becomes personal, and one detective must decide whether the greater threat lies in the shadows—or within her own department.
Sydney Livingstone thought her leap from the spotlight of professional tennis to the badge of a small-town police officer would mean calm, routine, and a sense of purpose. Newly engaged to Enzo and ready to build a new life, she expected quiet days in Walsh County. Instead, a faceless vigilante calling himself The Enforcer launches a brutal campaign against criminals and the justice system itself. With each attack, his reach grows broader, his methods more terrifying. Sydney quickly learns she isn’t just investigating the crimes—she may be one of the targets.
The deeper she digs, the more the boundaries blur between protector and predator. Evidence points toward betrayal within the force, a stalker shadows a fellow officer, and the media descends as fear spreads through the community. Sydney must question her instincts, her colleagues, and the very idea of justice. With the body count rising, the line between truth and deception narrows, and Sydney must race against time to survive a killer who always seems one step ahead.
SERVES YOU RIGHT (Sydney Livingstone Detective Series Book #2) by Orion Gregory is a twisted crime thriller/police procedural featuring a female detective who was once a pro tennis player and is now a newly minted detective in a small Wayne County department in Northeast Ohio. While this is the second book in the series, it can be easily read as a standalone.
Rookie detective Sydney Livingstone is trying to find her footing not only as a new detective, but also one of only two females in her department. When Sydney makes a mistake that could have cost officers their lives, she is placed on a two-week probation. While out, she is asked by a superior to quietly look into rumors of a vigilante, known as The Enforcer on the dark web.
The Enforcer is a self-proclaimed executioner of those who escape justice in the courts. Sydney is assigned to work to case and finds not only a killer who broadcasts his kills on the dark web but also has hinted at the fact that someone in the Wayne County department assists him. When a detective is murdered, Sydney must work out all the clues and navigate betrayal on the force before the wrong man is charged with The Executioner’s crimes, and she is let go.
This is a fast read with a protagonist who is trying to find her way in a new profession with mainly male colleagues who are not all welcoming. Sydney was portrayed as a regular human being with faults and insecurities and not endowed with superpowers of investigation. The crime plot was well paced and had a multitude of suspects and surprise twists that were solved with good investigative work and not a surprise out of thin air.
I recommend this gripping crime thriller/police procedural and would be interested in reading more in the series.
***
Excerpt
He looked over at Andrea, who was happily finishing a chili dog next to a side of circular, mangled fries. She was saying something about changing the drapes in the front window of her house, but Frank wasn’t listening.
His hamburger looked nauseating. Even the idea of taking a sip of beer made him want to vomit. The smell was now all-encompassing.
A pair of young boys chased each other, darting between tables. One bumped their table, causing some of Frank’s beer to spill.
“Undisciplined brats,” he muttered. “Can you imagine what kind of adults they’re going to be?”
Murderers? Spouse killers?
There goes Sheila again, funneling bullshit into my mind.
“We were all there once,” said Andrea. “Just ignore them.”
Frank smiled, wondering how Andrea wasn’t overcome by the disgusting smell. “You know what, I’m not really hungry,” he said. “I’m going to throw this stuff out.” Distracted by the unpleasant odor, Frank forgot about the possibility he was being followed. He fell into line behind two teenagers who were attempting to shove their trash inside an overflowing receptacle. The park seemed to be growing more crowded by the minute.
The park noises consumed Frank’s thoughts. Ice cream machines revved crazily in a high pitch, barbeque grills hissed louder than usual, and soda machines buzzed. Kids squealed at their parents while nearby game operators hollered at customers to step forward and win prizes.
He glanced upward, noticing hot-air balloons in the distance, moving toward the theme park. They were decorated with bold, contrasting colors. The late afternoon sun cast its light onto them, creating a living rainbow of color in the open air.
Frank’s eyes honed on one particular balloon, a white teardrop with silver accents and a printed logo. Four passengers waved cheerfully at everyone below. He struggled to read all the letters, but his mind was quick to fill in the gaps.
Murderer.
Frank was now trapped by the growing crowd. They jostled him, making it impossible to breathe properly. If he had the military sword that he found in Afghanistan, he could clear a five-foot radius around himself with a 360-degree swing. And what was that stinging sensation near his spine? Had a bee or wasp stung him? Or did someone accidentally jab him with a plastic fork?
But the stinging sensation was less noticeable than the certainty that he was being taunted from the heavens by some bastard who had rented a hot-air balloon. How was that possible? Who would’ve even known he would be at this theme park at this exact time?
Frank saw Andrea walking toward him, carrying a hot-fudge sundae. “Surprise!” she said. “I bought you a little treat. I figured maybe some ice cream would stimulate your appetite.”
Andrea, he thought? Of course. She was the only person who knew they were coming here today. But she would never betray him, would she? Andrea had stood steadfast by his side for two years. Had someone gotten to her? Was she gaslighting him so she could end up with everything? No, that couldn’t be right.
Andrea handed the ice cream to Frank. “Have some,” she said. “It might make you feel better.”
Why wasn’t she looking skyward? Playing coy? Perhaps. But then again, maybe someone else was behind all of this.
Frank let the sundae fall out of his hands. It struck the ground, cracking its plastic container and oozing white and brown onto the concrete.
“Shit, Frank. I just paid seven bucks for that. What the hell are you doing?” “Look up,” said Frank. “That white-and-silver balloon to the west. Tell me what you see.”
“Yeah, I guess it’s nice,” she shrugged. “They all are. Why are you acting so strange?” “Read the message on the balloon,” said Frank. “Tell me what it says.” Andrea squinted, looking upward.
“I don’t understand why it matters, but I’ll give it a go. Um – it appears to be a moving and storage company, I think. Yes, ‘Furderer Moving and Storage.’ Now, why was that important enough to drop your ice cream?”
Furderer. Not Murderer?
Shit. In all the hullabaloo of the last several years, Frank had neglected to update his contact lens prescription.
“Andrea, I am so sorry,” he said. “For some reason, I’m not feeling well.” Perhaps it was the combined smells of the food court, or maybe it was something else. The stinging sensation on his back was now more painful.
“I think I need to find a place to sit.”
Andrea placed her hand on his shoulder and attempted to help him navigate through the tight crowd. In the distance, Frank could see a few vacant seats located around a water fountain. It looked inviting – water spraying upward in a fanning arc, sparkling in the sun’s reflection.
He’d cool off near the fountain. Once he gathered his thoughts, they could leave and resume their romantic getaway. He grabbed Andrea by her outstretched arm and pulled her toward the fountain. When he was only steps away, Frank collided with a distracted man – holding four large translucent cups of beer – coming from the opposite direction. The impact caused the man to lose his balance, sending the cups tumbling out of his hand and onto the ground.
The man turned to Frank, his face red with anger. “Watch where you’re going, asshole!” he shouted. “That’s $36 of beer you spilled. You’re either gonna pay me back or I’m going to kick your ass and take the money out of your wallet myself.” The stinging sensation seemed to be increasing by the second. He tried to focus on the man, but his vision blurred.
The man leaned in, transferring saliva into Frank’s face as he continued his verbal barrage.
Frank understood the most logical solution would be to remain calm and pay the man for the spilled beer, especially after the last two tumultuous years. But between the insult and challenge to his manhood, Frank certainly wasn’t going to back down now.
Frank’s tormentor was about 6’ 2” and would be fortunate to reach 160 pounds. He looked like someone who had experienced a few too many go-rounds with methamphetamines. With Frank’s superior size and strength to go along with his hand-to-hand combat techniques, he knew he’d have this guy on the ground in a matter of seconds, begging for his life.
The man grinned, displaying two missing front teeth. His crooked nose had obviously been broken before. He sported a stained blue ball cap, a heavy-metal T-shirt, and his blue jeans displayed holes in the knees.
Andrea tugged at Frank’s shirt sleeve. “Let’s just go.”
Frank moved closer. “I give you one free shot,” he growled. “From that point on, I’m only defending myself.”
Frank held his hands low. Even a direct shot didn’t really concern him. He’d taken huge punches from some of the top instructors in the area during his martial arts classes. Surely, this guy wouldn’t even come close to matching them.
Frank suddenly was seeing two images of the man in front of him. And then three. The world was rotating around him like a turbo-charged merry-go-round. He no longer was thinking about moving his head at the sight of an incoming fist. He couldn’t focus his vision on any one thing. He could hear Andrea begging him to stop among the chats of a bunch of high school kids who were encouraging the other man to throw a punch. And the stinging pain in his back had become even more intense. He lost all feeling in his legs.
At the same time, the man barreled his head into Frank’s face. He heard laughing from above him. Everything was a blur. And still, there was that stinging sensation in his lower back. He heard Andrea scream. And then, Frank lost consciousness.
***
About the Author
Orion Gregory’s fascination with mysteries and human psychology began when he read his first Agatha Christie novel as a boy. After earning a degree in Communications from Wright State University, he carved out an award-winning career in journalism and advertising, later contributing to a national sports magazine. For 25 years, he balanced his professional life in sales with raising a family alongside his wife, Fran, and coaching tennis—a sport that sharpened his focus and strategy, both qualities he threads into his fiction. Now based in Southwest Ohio, Gregory writes fast-paced thrillers that combine page-turning suspense with emotional depth.
She thought she and her loved ones would be safe here. The lovely farm nestled in the heart of West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle looks like the perfect refuge from the backstabbing maelstrom of DC politics. But this seemingly peaceful new home is anything but safe for former FBI director Rivers and her children.
Troubles begin when Irene’s 12-year-old nephew finds a dead body in a cave on the property. Grim evidence points to a long-ago murder and cover-up. Powerful forces will do anything—including kill again—to protect their interests. Soon Irene’s family is the target of the kinds of threats and intimidation she’s seen before from major crime syndicates . . . but this time, the enemy determined to tear them down is homegrown.
Then comes the attack she most fears. With everything she cares about at risk and an impossible deadline looming, Irene knows she won’t get any help from the local police force. And she’s burned too many bridges in Washington to get help from the FBI. This time, Irene Rivers is on her own.
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Elise’s Thoughts
Burned Bridges by John Gilstrap is a riveting mystery. This series is a spin off from the Jonathan Graves series where the featured character, Irene Rivers, is moving on from her position as FBI Director. No matter what genre Gilstrap writes, whether a thriller or mystery, his stories are always gripping, intense, and action filled.
The plot shows how “you can take the job out of the woman, but you cannot take the no-nonsense attitude from Irene.” This becomes clearer as the story unfolds. She must combat a range of villains including corrupt officials and lawbreakers. They are greedy, powerful, like to intimidate, blackmail, and think nothing of resorting to violence.
The first couple of chapters explain that Irene took down a corrupt President and left the FBI. But now Irene Rivers is looking for a quiet life. She has moved to West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle in Jenkins County with her teenage daughter Kelly and 12-year-old nephew Wyatt. She thought they would be safe on her grandparents’ farm she had inherited. Irene’s trying for a fresh start, raising Kelly and Wyatt after both his parents died. She is hoping to improve her relationship with the children she is raising.
But her desire for a peaceful and quiet existence is shattered when Wyatt finds a dead body in a cave on the property. Grim evidence points to a long-ago murder and cover-up. Soon Irene’s family is the target of threats and intimidation she’s seen before from major crime syndicates.
In addition, she has become a private investigator and her first case lands her on the wrong side of a powerful family that seems to control the town. A teenage boy is in prison for a possible crime he didn’t commit. The evidence looks overwhelming, but Irene finds a lot of things that don’t add up. She must combat a sheriff who looks the other way, and a local kingpin whose legacy drips violence. Unfortunately, she’s burned every political bridge behind her so there will be no help she can seek and must solve both crimes on her own while protecting her family.
This novel is packed with nail-biting suspense, riveting drama, and blazing intrigue. The complex plot has good guys readers root for and bad buys they will hope to get their just do. This is a strong start to this new series.
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Author Interview
Elise Cooper: Why the Irene series?
John Gilstrap: I thought Irene deserved her own series. She has been in seventeen of the Jonathan Graves books. Irene is a cool character, and she was in my second book, At All Costs, that came out in 1998 as an FBI field agent. Ten years later I needed an FBI Director and decided to have Irene take that position. She now has her own book, and I do not think I will do any crossovers because Jonathan will be the hero of his books and Irene is the hero of her books.
EC: Yet Venice was in this book. Why?
JG: I needed her level of expertise for that plot point. Plus, it links this series with the Graves series. I think going forward the character Billy Stubblefield will take over the tech position in future books, but he is not near her level.
EC: In Zero Sum the last book, Irene saves the US from a corrupt President. Please explain the role that played in this book.
JG: In the second chapter I described why Irene chose to leave the FBI. Eighteen months ago, she proved the President, Anthony Darmond, to be corrupt. Unfortunately, the polls in the US showed how the nation was split down the middle on whether she was a hero or a spawn of Satan. During the Impeachment hearings it showed Darmond to be involved with drug smuggling, human trafficking, and treason. It effects Irene and Jonathan in his books because Irene is not there to help him out. But in future books I will moving away from this plotline.
EC: Why move her from Washington D. C. to West Virginia?
JG: I moved to West Virginia and decided to set a series of stories here with Irene moving here with her younger daughter, and nephew. She leaves the FBI and goes to her family’s land in West Virginia.
EC: How did you get the idea for this first book in the series, Burned Bridges?
JG: I was walking with my dog and saw some caves. My dog was trying to go into one. I thought that Irene’s nephew, Wyatt, who was with his black lab, Ruger, finds a part of body stuffed in this cave for a long time. She decides to investigate who was this person. My dog gave me the idea.
EC: How would you describe Irene?
JG: Strong-willed, has a lot of backbone, a single mom in Washington D. C. that has now moved to West Viriginia. She is tough as nails, zero BS, very, very honest, and frustrated because she does not have the FBI perks she had as a director. Part of the fun of the series is watching Irene discover herself. She still seeks out justice, a knight of the round table.
EC: Where will Irene be going professionally?
JG: She will become acting sheriff and has a private investigating firm she started. I do not outline so I do not know if she will become the permanent sheriff. In general Irene does not trust politicians and sheriffs are inherently politicians while deputy sheriffs are career police. The way I see it playing out right now is that she is not a politician. The deputies who worked with the corrupt Sheriff Monroe will not have a future but the ones there for actual police work will have a future.
EC: Does Irene also hate reporters?
JG: I have this book quote, “Reporters are Jackals…they wait till their prey is weakest and then they pounce.” It is safe to say that she does not trust the media. Does anybody trust the media?
EC: How would you describe the children?
JG: Kelly is the youngest daughter who never lets Irene forget she put career and country over mothering. As a typical teenager she blames her mom for everything wrong in her life and blames her for not being around enough.
Wyatt, her nephew, lost his father, and now his mother, and currently lives with Irene. He is a loner who does not have friends or enemies. He has been through a lot.
EC: How would you describe the villain, Finn?
JG: He is a sociopath, psychopath, with a lot of rage. He is part of the Rutledge clan. They own pretty much everything in Jenkins County. They made sure the elected officials were in their back pocket so they could get away with pretty much anything they wanted. Irene as sheriff will be the honest one so they want to get rid of her. They did bring a lot of prosperity to the area, but they do not like competition.
EC: Next book?
JG: The next Graves book, titled, Scorched Earth, comes out in late February 2026. Jonathan was an off the book’s contractor for Irene. People are taking revenge on these contractors. Graves is also trying to prevent a terror plot trying to take out a group of young people. There is an influence of October 7th that triggered this idea. These books are of the global scale.
Regarding the next Irene book, I know if Irene’s children are involved in the plot, they must be in some form of jeopardy. Irene books will be more of the local scale. But since I do not have it written yet who knows.
THANK YOU!!
***
BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.
Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for HER COLD HEART (Detective Delaney Pace Book #6) by Pamela Fagan Hutchins on this Bookouture Books-On-Tour blog post.
Below you will find a book description, my book review, an about the author section, and the author’s social media links. Enjoy!
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Book Description
As snow falls over the small town of Kearny, the body of a young woman lies on the frozen ground. Her unblinking eyes stare out across the mountain top, and a wave of crimson-red blood seeps into the white blanket where she rests.
When residents discover a body on the slopes of a popular ski resort, DetectiveDelaney Pace and Sheriff Leo Palmer are first to investigate. Delaney scans her surroundings, and among the panic-stricken crowd she spots a man fleeing through the trees.
Delaney and Leo race after the suspect, following the tracks he left in his wake. But when the pair are separated, Delaney makes a heart-stopping discovery: a make-shift graveyard at an abandoned lodge deep in the forest. Immediately she knows there are more victims—and Leo’s radio has gone dead…
With the sheriff missing and the risk of more lives being taken, Delaney works fast to capture the twisted killer. But her mission grinds to a halt when a ghost from her past sends her a chilling message: Do as I say, if you want to see Leo again.
Desperate to save the man she loves, Delaney faces the shocking realisation that this whole thing was planned. She knows who’s responsible—and how dangerous they are. If she follows the orders she could lose her life, but if she doesn’t, she could lose Leo. Will she catch the killer in time? Or will she pay the ultimate price?
HER COLD HEART (Detective Delaney Pace Book #6) by Pamela Fagan Hutchins is an edge-of-your-seat thriller that is full of action and twists. This is the sixth book in the series, and I could not put it down. I would recommend reading this series in order because the characters’ personal lives, growth, and histories play a large part in each book.
Detective Delaney Pace and Sheriff Leo Palmer are out enjoying the slopes with their family. As they are getting off the ski lift at the top of the run, a shot rings out and the young women behind Delaney is shot and killed. Delaney and Leo race after the suspect described by a witness.
A snow mobile chase ensues, and Delaney and Leo separate. When Delaney returns for Leo’s help, she cannot find him anywhere. As she traces his tracks, she discovers he was in an accident and then taken by the suspects they were chasing. She is sent a proof of life video and is told she must follow all orders she receives to get Leo back alive.
Delaney must risk everything as she goes up against dangerous ghosts from her past who want both dead.
This is such a fast paced, thrill ride of a new book in this series. After six books, I care about all the characters and I just feel like I am catching up with old friends, and when they are in danger, I read as fast as I can and pray all ends well. The danger, mysteries, and plot twists come fast in this story as Delaney works to save Leo and herself.
I highly recommend this emotional, action-packed thriller/police procedural addition to this series and cannot wait for more!
***
About the Author
USA Today bestselling and Silver Falchion Best Mystery winning mystery/thriller/suspense author (and recovering attorney and investigator) who splits time between an off-the-grid lodge on the face of Wyoming’s Bighorn Mountains and a rustic cabin on Maine’s Lake Mooselookmeguntic with her husband, kids and grandkids, rescue pets and sled dog, and draft cross horses.
Writes for Bookouture and independently.
Host of Crime & Wine: Novelist Chats with Pamela Fagan Hutchins.
Betrayal at Blackthorn Park, Evelyne Redfern Book 2
A Dark and Deadly Journal, Evelyne Redfern Book 3
Julia Kelly
Minotaur Books
Julia Kelly’s new series introduces a new heroine, Evelyne Redfern. She is intelligent, logical, and resilient with a love of reading detective stories. Readers are plunged into WWII where Evelyne ends up as a spy. These novels have secrets and friendships.
All three books are very interesting reads with characters that are well developed. The historical insight only adds to the books’ suspense.
Book Description
1940, England: Evelyne Redfern, known as “The Parisian Orphan” as a child, is working on the line at a munitions factory in wartime London. When Mr. Fletcher, one of her father’s old friends, spots Evelyne on a night out, Evelyne finds herself plunged into the world of Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s cabinet war rooms.
However, shortly after she settles into her new role as a secretary, one of the girls at work is murdered, and Evelyne must use all of her amateur sleuthing expertise to find the killer. But doing so puts her right in the path of David Poole, a cagey minister’s aide who seems determined to thwart her investigations. That is, until Evelyne finds out David’s real mission is to root out a mole selling government secrets to Britain’s enemies, and the pair begrudgingly team up.
With her quick wit, sharp eyes, and determination, will Evelyne be able to find out who’s been selling England’s secrets and catch a killer, all while battling her growing attraction to David?
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Elise’s Thoughts
A Traitor in Whitehall introduces Evelyne by going into her backstory. She was known as the Parisian Orphan after her mother died, and her father was in name only. Now many years later, she is approached by Mr. Fletcher, a family friend who offers her a secretarial job in an underground bunker where the Churchill cabinet war rooms are located. Shortly after she settles into the job, one of her fellow workers is murdered. She uses her amateur detective skills to find the killer. But doing so puts her right in the path of David Poole, a cagey minister’s aide who seems determined to thwart her investigations. That is, until Evelyne finds out David’s real mission is to root out a mole selling government secrets to Britain’s enemies. The pair begrudgingly team up since it becomes obvious Evelyne can get people to speak to her.
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Book Description
Freshly graduated from a rigorous training program in all things spy craft, former typist Evelyne Redfern is eager for her first assignment as a field agent helping Britain win the war. However, when she learns her first task is performing a simple security test at Blackthorn Park, a requisitioned manor house in the sleepy Sussex countryside, she can’t help her initial disappointment. Making matters worse, her handler is to be David Poole, a fellow agent who manages to be both strait-laced and dashing in annoyingly equal measure. However, Evelyne soon realizes that Blackthorn Park is more than meets the eye, and an upcoming visit from Winston Churchill means that security at the secret weapons research and development facility is of the utmost importance.
When Evelyne discovers Blackthorn Park’s chief engineer dead in his office, her simple assignment becomes more complicated. Evelyne must use all of her—and David’s—detection skills to root out who is responsible and uncover layers of deception that could change the course of the war.
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Elise’s Thoughts
Betrayal at Blackthorn Parkhas Evelyne going from a secretary to a covert spy. Now, fresh out of training, Evelyne is sent, with David as her handler, to infiltrate Blackthorn Park, a secret government installation developing clandestine weapons. They must figure out why some materials have gone missing. They are on a time limit since Prime Minister Winston Churchill is due to arrive there in a few days for a demonstration. Unfortunately, while making sure the facility is secure, Evelyne stumbles upon a dead body, that of Sir Nigel Balram, a brilliant but unpopular engineer who heads the project. Despite David and Evelyne’s slightly prickly relationship they function efficiently and intelligently together and now must quickly find the killer.
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Book Description
After being sidelined for a pesky gunshot wound, typist-turned-field agent Evelyne Redfern is ready for her next assignment with Britain’s secretive Special Investigations Unit. When a British Intelligence informant in Portugal mysteriously disappears just after hinting that he has vital information about German plans that could tip the balance of World War Two, Evelyne and her dashingly irksome partner, David Poole, are sent headed to Lisbon to find him.
Once they land, Evelyne and David aren’t even able to leave the airport, before she discovers one of their fellow aeroplane passengers murdered and uncovers a diary with a clear link between the victim and their missing informant. With their mission in jeopardy before it can truly begin, Evelyne and David fight to keep their cover intact as they descend deeper into the shadows that surround Lisbon’s glittering collection of wealthy expats and dangerous spies. This case will test Evelyne and David’s training, charm, and wit—and their growing attraction for one another.
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Elise’s Thoughts
A Dark and Deadly Journalis a cliff hanger. While the other two books are more of a mystery this book combines a mystery within a thriller making for a riveting and gripping novel. When a British Intelligence informant in Portugal mysteriously disappears just after hinting that he has vital information about German plans that could tip the balance of World War Two, Evelyne and her partner, David Poole, are sent to Lisbon to find him. Before she even leaves the plane, she discovers one of their fellow passengers murdered and uncovers a diary with a clear link between the victim and their missing informant. Unfortunately, Evelyn finds herself the main suspect in a murder before she even leaves the airport, but she is eventually released, although still considered a person of interest. As she and David try to find the informant, Evelyne feels guilty because she is hiding the other reason she is in Portugal, to locate her estranged father.
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Author Interview
Elise Cooper: Is the theme for all the Evelyne Redfern books having her find a dead body?
Julia Kelly: I like a classic murder mystery with the set up and who done it. I always enjoyed the puzzle and figuring out what will happen. For the foreseeable future I anticipate focusing on the murder mystery side of things.
EC: How did you get the idea for the series?
JK: I was at the Imperial War Museums in London with a friend. It is interesting where they have the underground bunkers for the cabinet war rooms used during WWII. I thought this would be a good place to set a murder mystery because it is a closed room so to speak. It is a bit of a lock room mystery in a way. I wrote this into my first book, A Traitor inWhitehall.
EC: In the first book Evelyne mother’s death was highlighted. Why?
JK: It is one of Evelyne’s big motivations. Her mother died when she was twelve and she always felt that the death was not investigated properly. She has this lingering feeling that something does not add up. She sees it again when a murder happens at Whitehall, believing that the military police are not taking the death seriously. Her motivation was the feeling of mirrors and parallel to the investigation of her mother.
EC: The victims in the books seem to be unlikeable. Do you agree?
JK: Yes, in the first book the victim, Jean Plinkton, is not sympathetic. She is catty, likes to collect and use information on people to blackmail them, unpopular, a bully, and a snitch. Evelyne believes that she still deserves justice. In the second and third books the victims were ladies’ men who had affairs. I wanted to write about elements of their characters that were possible red herrings.
EC: What was the idea for the second book, Betrayal at Blackthorn Park?
JK: I wanted to write a country house murder mystery. During the war there was a huge number of stately homes, requestioned, including a SOE research and development facility for the creation of weapons. Evelyne was sent to investigate the security there because of breeches.
EC: Is the SOE real?
JK: It stands for Special Operations Executive, a branch of the British government that was clandestine. They are covert. Their agents use surveillance, have weapons training, use explosives, and have combat and parachute training. They blow up strategic targets, run secret missions, conduct assassinations, and extract people out of a country. They were controversial because some felt war should be fought out in the open and not in secret. Churchill believed the war would be won with not only conventional forces but also secret combat missions. It was nicknamed the Department of Ungentlemanly Warfare.
EC: The idea for the third book, A Dark and Deadly Journal?
JK: I wanted to get Evelyne and her partner David out of their comfort zone. I decided to send them to Portugal, a neutral country during WWII. It is an interesting space because there was a huge amount of espionage activity there. They were sent to Portugal to investigate the disappearance of a missing vital informant run by British intelligence. Evelyne is now growing as a field agent.
EC: Do readers get to know her father in this book?
JK: Yes. He never calls himself dad to her. He is not cautious, not meticulous, uncaring, aloof, selfish, arrogant, unfaithful, a bad father/husband, and is content that he had years of no contact with his daughter, Evelyne. To others he can be glamorous, charming and gracious. He made his living by going off on adventures and writing about them.
EC: How would you describe Evelyne?
JK: She is perceptive, insightful, curious, independent, personable, aggressive, sarcastic, likes to disarm people, and tends to sulk at times.
EC: How would you describe her partner, David?
JK: He is calm, trusting, and a rule follower. He is the straight man to Evelyne. He has a past that has not been dealt with yet.
EC: There is a debate between Evelyne and David about detective novels. Why?
JK: She likes English detective stories, and he likes American detective stories. Part of it is my enjoyment of reading them and a nod to the golden age of novels. Evelyne’s ambitions to become a detective intrigues her because of her reading of those stories. I have personally read many more British detective novels than American.
EC: What was the role of Evelyne’s Aunt Amelia?
JK: She is probably my favorite character to write. She is very bold. She came about because Evelyne is estranged from her father, her mother has died, and I wanted Evelyne to have a connection with a family member. Aunt Amelia is a strong presence but not always a welcome presence in Evelyne’s life. She is bossy, difficult, and pushy but loves her niece very much.
EC: What about Mrs. White and Mr. Fletcher?
JK: They are Evelyne’s bosses who will push her. Fletcher recruits her, a family friend. He very much believes in her. Mrs. White is much more by the book who is sharp, efficient, serious, and shrewd. She wants to make sure Evelyne is trained and knows what she is doing. They have Evelyne investigate moles and breeches of security. Mrs. White does not feel Evelyne has earned her trust yet and they have a tense relationship. Fletcher runs the department while Mrs. White runs the field agents.
EC: In the books you play on women’s issues?
JK: There were men who did not want women to be in a certain role. Especially with the first book I wanted to play up the fact how Evelyne is underestimated at every turn because she is a woman in the typing pool. She was not valued. She was able to speak to people who would otherwise not speak to an investigator and is able to fly under the radar. Women’s roles were opening during the war. The perception that women were not capable of doing certain jobs for the war effort was still part of the thinking of the time. She used that expectation to her own advantage.
EC: What about the relationship between David and Evelyne?
JK: He has high regard for her. At first, he does not look on her as an equal partner but comes around. They can read each other. They do not necessarily trust each other. It is a relationship that is still growing. In the last book I do not leave them in a very good place.
EC: Next book?
JK: I want to not focus not only on the murder mystery themselves, but the development of the characters. Going forward I will have some changes and tension between them. I wanted to put their relationship on some strain and pressure. The next book is in the making.
THANK YOU!!
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BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.
