Book Review: The Girl Who Knew Too Much
Book: The Girl Who Knew Too Much
Author: Amanda Quick
Genre: Fiction/Historical/Mystery/Romance
Summary: When Hollywood moguls and stars want privacy, they head off to an idyllic small town on the coast, where the exclusive Burning Cove Hotel caters to their every need. It's where reporter Irene Glasson finds herself staring down at a beautiful actress at the bottom of a pool. . . The dead woman had a red-hot secret about up-and-coming leading man Nick Tremayne, a scoop that Irene couldn't resist - especially since she's just a rookie at a third-rate gossip rag. But now Irene's investigation into the drowning threatens to tear down the wall of illusion that is so deftly built around the famous actor, and there are more powerful men willing to do anything to protect their investment. Seeking the truth, Irene finds herself drawn to a master of deception. Oliver Ward was once a world-famous magician - until he was mysteriously injured during his last performance. Now the owner of the Burning Cove Hotel, he can't let scandal threaten his livelihood, even if it means trusting Irene, a woman who seems to have appeared in Los Angeles out of nowhere four months ago . . . With Oliver's help, Irene soon learns that the glamorous paradise of Burning Cove hides dark and dangerous secrets. And that the past - always just out of sight - could drag them both under . . . -Berkley, 2017
After reading the two "sequel" books to this first installment of the Burning Cove series, I was more than ready to read this at last.
I have to say - I wasn't disappointed. It was a unique premise that was well-delivered. The mystery and intrigue were well written and the romance was pretty good. I was wondering who the culprit was from start to finish and was pleasantly surprised by the reveal.
The only two things I would have to say that I was disappointed by were the occasional melodramatic flare and the anticlimactic nature of the primary plot point. Though the murder in the hotel is the secondary catalyst, the first catalyst is the event that pushes "Irene" to go to Burning Cove in the first place. That catalyst and the effects of it don't last beyond the second plot catalyst (the pool murder) and to me, I think that's the wrong order of things. If anything, the pool murder should have been resolved first. The first catalyst was also resolved much earlier in the earlier in the book (just barely missing the halfway point page wise) so I felt like Quick wanted to get it resolved as soon as possible so she could focus on something else.
The melodramatic flare when it came to certain characters was eye-roll inducing, but it takes place in the 30s so I'm not going to gripe about it too much.
Even so, I enjoyed the book and I would still recommend it.
I give The Girl Who Knew Too Much an A-.
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