PLAYING IT SAFE - Ashley Weaver


Electra "Ellie" McDonnell was once a safe-cracking thief.  Now, while London is constantly on edge with Germany's WWII Blitz, Ellie agrees to use her skills to help her country. She's given an assignment by British Intelligence and, under an assumed name, travels to the port city of Sunderland to wait for further orders. Before she can even get her orders, a man falls dead at her feet, a note clutch in his fist. Ellie is confident that this is going to play into her mission.

The British Intelligence agent that Ellie is to work with is Major Ramsey and he's been keeping the mission quite secret, even from his primary, undercover agent, Ellie. Now the two of them would be working together and rushing to uncover a new, deadly enemy before they become the next victims. They'll also be trying to uncover who's behind a Nazi counterfeiting ring - a scheme which, if successful, could be even more devastating than the bombing blitz.

Once again I've stepped late into a series. This is book number three in the Ellie McDonnell series, and for the most part, the story is well contained into this book. The mission, the sudden change in direction, the need to think and react quickly ... all of this is handled well and makes for a very nice historical fiction mystery.

But the character of Ellie, for whom the series is named, is missing some detail.

I really wanted to know more about Ellie, why she has the skills she does, and why the decision to become a better citizen.  I recognize that the war has a great deal to do with the latter, but is there more to it? I can't help but wonder if some of this vital information about who Ellie is is revealed in one or both of the previous books.

Knowing more about Ellie would definitely have moved this book up a notch for me because I really didn't know if what she was doing was really outside her comfort zone, or if more of this was in her skill set.

I recognize that this is a tricky area - you don't want to bore the readers who've read the earlier books with repeat information, but a little refresher character history would be good.

Looking for a good book? Playing it Safe by Ashley Weaver was an enjoyable, though not particularly memorable, read.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

3-1/2 stars

* * * * * *

Playing It Safe

author: Ashley Weaver

series: Electra McDonnell #3

publisher: Minotaur Books

ISBN: 9781250885876

hardcover, 272 pages

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