When old friends Gerard Holloway and his wife invite Amory Ames and her husband Milo to the dress rehearsal of Gerard's new play, Amory readily accepts. But she is shocked to learn that he has cast his mistress Flora in the lead role. Furthermore, Flora has been receiving threatening letters, and he needs their help in finding the sender.
With her husband away on business, Amory Ames is alone at her country house Thornecrest, preparing for the arrival of their baby. When a woman appears also claiming to be Milo's wife, Amory is sure there must be a mistake, but with secret identities, whirlwind romances, and a murder, suddenly events are spiralling out of control.
February 1933. Receiving a mysterious summons from her cousin Laurel, Amory Ames and her playboy husband Milo, set off for the Lyonsgate estate post- haste. Mystery lingers and Amory is sure that the notorious Isobel Van Allen stands at the centre of it.
The second in the Electra McDonnell series from Edgar-nominated author Ashley Weaver, The Key to Deceit, is a delightful World War II mystery filled with spies, murder, romance, and wit. London, 1940. After years of stealing from the rich and giving to the poor—well, to themselves, anyway—Ellie McDonnell and her family have turned over a new leaf as they help the government’s war effort. It’s true that the straight-laced Major Ramsey didn’t give them much choice, but still, Ellie must admit she doesn’t miss breaking and entering as much as she might have thought. What she does miss is the challenge of unlocking an impossible code and the adrenaline rush that comes from being somewhere she shouldn’t. So when Major Ramsey turns up unannounced with another job, she can’t say no. A woman’s body has been found floating in the Thames, with a bracelet locked onto her wrist, and a cameo locket attached to it. It’s clear this woman was involved in espionage, but whose side was she on? Who was she reporting to? And who wanted her dead?
Amory Ames is excited to be bridesmaid at her friend's New York wedding. But when a guest is found dead, Amory and husband Milo are drawn into New York's criminal underworld as they search for the killer.
Amory Ames is looking forward to a reconnecting with reformed playboy husband Milo, yet she agrees to help lay a trap to catch the culprit at a lavish masked ball. When one of the illustrious party guests is murdered, Amory is pulled back into the world of detection, enlisted by old ally Detective Inspector Jones.
When Milo Ames receives a troubling letter from his childhood nanny, he and Amory travel to Paris where they are soon embroiled in a mystery surrounding the death of a famous parfumier. When secrets unfold and things take a dangerous turn, Amory and Milo must uncover the essence of the matter and catch a killer before the scent goes cold.
Electra McDonnell and her family earn their living outside the law. Breaking into the homes of the rich and picking the locks on their safes may not be condoned by British law enforcement, but with World War II in full swing, Uncle Mick’s locksmith business just can’t pay the bills anymore. So when Uncle Mick receives a tip about a safe full of jewels in an empty house, he and Ellie can’t resist. All is going as planned―until the pair is caught red-handed. But instead of arresting them, government official Major Ramsey has an offer: either Ellie agrees to help him break into a safe and retrieve blueprints crucial to the British war effort, or he turns her over to the police.
A delicious mystery in which murder invades polite society and romance springs in unexpected places.
The third in the Electra McDonnell series from Edgar-nominated author Ashley Weaver, Playing It Safe is a delightful World War II mystery filled with spies, murder, romance, and wit.