Review: And Only to Deceive (Lady Emily #1) by Tasha Alexander

Lady Emily Ashford is not in love with her new husband, the Viscount Philip Ashford. In fact she hardly knows him. So when she receives word that her husband died on safari in Africa, she can hardly morn a man she barely knows.

Emily married Philip to escape the constraints of her family and hoped that marriage would provide that. Now that she is a widow, she finds she has even more freedom than she did as a wife.

All of London society can’t stop singing the praises of Lord Ashford to Emily which makes her uncomfortable, but in an effort to at least try and morn the stranger she married, Emily listens to their stories.

She soon discovers that Philip was in fact wildly interesting and very much in love with her. Not only did Philip love to hunt on the “Dark Continent”, he was a romantic at heart with a love for Emily she has no idea existed; he also was a lover and collector of ancient antiquities and Greek literature.

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Review: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium #1) by Stieg Larsson

Financial journalist, Mikael Blomkvist’s, life is falling apart. Not only is he being sued for libel and facing jail time and mounting financial losses, his boss (who happens to be his sometimes lover) is forced into accepting his resignation.

When he is at his lowest point, Blomkvist is approached with a curious offer of employment. Henrik Vanger is a wealthy, retired CEO of a major Swedish company, Vanger Cooperation.

Vanger wants Blomkvist  to use his trained journalists eye and find out what happened to his niece who mysteriously disappeared in the 1960’s. Blomkvist doesn’t really have a whole lot of options….he needs the money Vanger is offering but Vanger also possessed the golden ticket: Vanger can give Blomkvist the proof he needs to prove his innocents in the libel case.

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Review: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

This book takes fatal attraction to a whole new level.

Nick and Amy Dunne have been married for five years when suddenly she’s gone…..no explanation, no note, nothing.  She is simply gone.

Nick does what any sane man would do when his wife ends up missing….he calls the police. When the police come out, they quickly notice that things aren’t adding up. There are signs of a struggle and there are holes in Nick’s story and timeline.

Suddenly Nick finds himself as the prime suspect in Amy’s disappearance.

The evidence is pretty damning and in the court of public opinion….he’s more than guilty of the disappearance if not murder. But is he really?

Nick maintains his innocents but he does have something to hide…..a secret that if revealed could ruin him. But is the secret motivation enough for murder?

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Review: Princess Elizabeth’s Spy (Maggie Hope Mystery #2) by Susan Elia MacNeal

Being a spy sounds so much cooler and glamorous without all the physical training doesn’t it? That’s exactly what’s running through Maggie Hope’s mind while she’s at Camp Spook.

After helping uncover a terrorist cell and cracking some difficult codes is the first book, Maggie has been recruited to work for MI5….an opportunity she simply can’t pass up there’s only one problem….the biggest muscle in Maggie’s body is her brain.

But when she arrives at Camp Spook, she wasn’t counting on all the drills and exercises. It is quickly apparent that she is not cut out for MI5’s spy academy. After only a couple of weeks, her supervisor calls her in and tells her he is pulling her from Camp Spook.

At first Maggie is crushed, but there is still some Hope to be had….MI5 is going to reassign her.

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Review: A Monstrous Regiment of Women (Mary Russell #2) by Laurie R. King

A game’s a foot and Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes are on the case!

In Sussex, Mary Russell is about to turn 21 and come into her sizable inheritance. On a whim one night, Mary sneaks away to London in search of her long time friend and mentor, Sherlock Holmes.

When she meets up with Holmes on that dark London night, she nearly puts her foot in her mouth, but before she can cause herself too much embarrassment, Holmes cuts her off. But in doing so, he mistakenly insults her and she storms off into the night, anxious to be out of an uncomfortable situation.

Come morning, Mary finds her way into a tea shop where she runs into an old Oxford acquaintance, Veronica Beaconsfield.

Veronica has been working for the New Temple of God, a group whose mission is helping the poor and unfortunate women of London. Veronica convinces Mary to come to some of the Temple’s meetings and since she is in want of something to distract her mind, she agrees. Continue reading “Review: A Monstrous Regiment of Women (Mary Russell #2) by Laurie R. King”