Janice Graham

Rating: 3.5* of five

The Publisher Says: From the New York Times bestselling author of Firebird comes a delightfully funny and tender tale of family secrets, reluctant spies, and one unforgettable woman!

Paris 1989.
A cold war is ending.
A new family is beginning.
And one dog is about to save the day.

Carl Box has never met his Aunt Lily. She was the family scandal — exiled, disgraced, and never spoken of. So when he’s named the heir to her Paris estate, he packs a bag (and his two-legged dog, show more Billy) and prepares for paperwork, not espionage.

But Lily is very much alive. And very much in trouble.

What begins as a simple inheritance turns into a Cold War caper filled with coded messages, eccentric operatives, and secrets that could still get people killed. Carl soon finds himself in the role of spy — dodging agents, covering for Lily, and wondering what exactly she’s been hiding all these years.

Red Lily is a warm, witty historical suspense about unexpected heroism and the mysteries of family ties — perfect for fans of Killers of a Certain Age, Jacqueline Winspear, and Only Murders in the Building.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: Thank goodness for the great middle-class Prufrock! He is that scion of privilege who's niggled by the sense of Something More being somewhere out there, though he can't really say where or why. He's a fixture in Graham Greene's Cold War novels: Our Man in Havana's Wormold and Travels with my Aunt's Pulling. Enough privilege and wealth to leave his quotidian life behind. It's never examined from the standpoint of his privilege, his white-male unquestioned freedom to just...chuck it all, no blame or manhunts pursuing him.

Aunt Lily is meant to be a Mame-like figure, a woman who wasn't shunned by her family for trivial reasons but for her utter unwillingness to conform. A sister to a man who left his son a paint factory and the surname Box, she's really more of an Ethel Rosenberg figure to me. She knows what she's doing, and that there are consequences, but she believes she's Right so she does it anyway. Best to keep family far away. Except when they come in handy, as her Prufrock-meets-Babbitt nephew does now.

There's enough action, enough entertaining woman-spy-trades-on-femaleness to make its more cozy aspects of forming found family and taking care of the people in your life (who aren't there from some societal pressure) to the bitter end to make it feel like a weirdly cozy thriller. Running around there is, but more importantly bonds are formed, forged, and honored.

Box himself is slow on the uptake. It frustrated me that Aunt Lily could run rings around him yet HE was the narrator. It was also more than a little effort to keep track of who's who, which is fine in a thriller but not usually part of the reading experience in a cozy, so a bit of the luster got dimmed for me there too.

All in all, though, I'm not mad at the read, nor especially mad for it either. Fun was had, smiles were smiled, and five hours were not wasted in reading it. Need something to wile some time away that still repays giving it your attention?

Seven bucks and it's yours. show less

Oh, I wanted to like this book, so much. The premise of a deaf woman trying to make her way in Victorian England sounded like a good premise, and the author did her research when it came to Veda dealing with her disability after her hearing loss. Her struggle to read lips, communicate with people, and deal with the silence are well-illustrated here, as well as her skill and passion for her craft and her struggles in a male and class-dominated world.

As anyone who is fairly versed in history show more knows, women often got the short end of the stick, especially in marriage. They're expected to give up whatever dream they have to spit out babies. Veda is concerned about this as she loves tailoring and desires to prove herself as able as any man in the shop, regardless of gender or disability.

For most of the book, I was prepared to give it at least 4 stars. However, the last fifth of the book just... unraveled into something so ridiculous and frustrating that I felt incredibly let down. I honestly had enjoyed this book up to that point, and then you get a jumble of mystery and an ending that made me want to throw this book across the room.

I just couldn't get over the fact that Harry would deceive Veda to believe that her child was dead. He complained in his letter about being denied his parental rights, yet Veda was led to believe that her child was born stillborn and deformed, and would have never learned the truth (much less tried to find Harry) if not for the conscience of a farm boy.

But the biggest issue in this book was how much of an ass Harry was about Veda's work. He complained about not being able to do anything worthwhile because he was an aristocrat, more than once. However, at the end of the book, it is revealed that he has made something of himself and is in a position of importance. However, Veda no longer works in a tailor shop, or does business for others, or supports herself in ANY way. She only makes clothes for Harry and their children, and is even apparently content to let people believe that her father (also a tailor) is the one who made Harry's clothes.

I'm like... wtf??? For all Veda's trying to assert her own independence/ability through the book (she even opens up her own shop!) she just throws this all away to become some brainless housewife who despite her deafness, is the darling of dinner parties, because Hubby doesn't want her having her own goal/dreams. But him making something out of himself is awwwwright due to the fact, and only the fact, that he has a penis. Even Mr. Balducci, for all his smarmy assholeishness, encouraged Veda's work and talent.

Fuck you, Harry. show less

This spy thriller takes place throughout the summer and fall of 1989 – during the beginning of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. Set mostly in Paris, this is a story about Lily, a woman who had been unjustly maligned by her family. Told with humor through the eyes of Carl, a clueless young American relative. When the novel begins, Carl has no interest in travel, but he soon finds himself forced to navigate dangerous situations in a foreign culture and a foreign show more language.

The novel explores the themes of discovery and reconciliation, how families – like regimes – demonize outliers, and what it takes to bring them together again. Aunt Lily is a quirky character, as are most of the people she surrounds herself with. No one is who they appear to be – there are disguises, cover stories, people disappearing and reappearing – I could make a case for a comparison to “Alice in Wonderland.”

Mostly set in a vividly depicted Paris, this historical novel blends action, suspense, and spies with a story about family secrets. While I loved the cover and high hopes for the novel, this earns only 3 stars from me as it got bogged down with too much description that distracted from the action. You’ll probably like this one more than I did if you’re a fan of political thrillers that don’t take themselves too seriously. show less

The Flint Hills create a rugged yet beautiful landscape surrounding the small town of Bazaar, Kansas. It’s home to the small community that Sarah Bryden belongs to. Sarah is a private woman who lives with her grandparents, Jack and Ruth. When Susan Blackshere returns to her family’s mansion in the nearby town of Cottonwood Falls with her husband, John Wilde, and their adopted baby son, Will, there’s an instant attraction between Sarah and John. If this is beginning to sound like a show more run-of-the-mill romantic triangle, I’ll tell you now, it’s far from it. These characters, John, Sarah, and Susan, are complicated and captivating.

Keep the Kleenex box handy because this intriguing story of loss, betrayal, and courage will tug at your heartstrings and keep you in suspense to the last page. I enjoyed this book immensely and highly recommend it. It’s a story that will live in your memory for a long time. show less