Jayne Ann Krentz

Disclaimer: I am totally partial to this book because I share the same name as the heroine. I'm easily swayed. However, even that couldn't convince me to give a book five stars if I didn't feel like it deserved it. One of the best things about Quick's novel Mystique is that you are always in for a surprise. If you think you know romance, this one will shake up everything. Of course, it still has several romance tropes like the heroine who runs off only to need saving later, the brusque and show more dark hero, chauvinistic father figures, a fake betrothal, and a MacGuffin. But those tropes only ground the novel in familiar territory while the story takes off in unexpected direction.

This book is a great read for many reasons: if you love Medieval romances that aren't gritty or violent, if you love girl power and women banding together, and if you prefer a sense of realism over magical intervention. This book is just delightful from beginning to end as the heroine proves to actually be intelligent without rude, capable, and reasonable while the hero proves to be sensitive and caring with only the trappings of a brute. Quick is a skilled writer, and this book can perfectly satisfy your craving for a happy ending. show less

4.5 stars.

The Girl Who Knew Too Much by Amanda Quick is a delightfully clever mystery that is set during the glamorous Golden Age of Hollywood.

After her previous job abruptly comes to a dangerous and tragic end, Irene Glasson reinvents herself upon her arrival in Los Angeles. Now an up and coming reporter at gossip rag Whispers, she is hoping her upcoming meeting with Gloria Maitland provides her with the information for a titillating article on rising star Nick Tremayne. Unfortunately, show more Irene finds Gloria's lifeless body in the swimming pool at the upscale Burning Cove Hotel. Believing Gloria's death is no accident, Irene remains in town and pairs up with the hotel's owner (and former magician) Oliver Ward to try and uncover the truth about Gloria's death.

Irene is a spunky young woman who does not shy away from danger. She is resourceful, confident and determined to find the truth about Gloria's death. She is reluctant to completely trust Oliver, but once she realizes how far Nick's studio will go to protect their star, she has no choice but to work with him. Stubbornly convinced that Nick is connected to Gloria's death and her co-worker Peggy Hackett's eerily similar death, Irene ignores the danger surrounding her and doggedly pursues every lead she finds.

Despite his previous fame, Oliver now keeps a low profile and he is a little mysterious since he refuses to discuss the accident that ended his career. Since he is intensely protective of his guests, he is not at all pleased to discover that Irene somehow managed to find her way onto to the hotel grounds. It goes without saying he has a vested interest in learning the truth about what happened to Gloria since the negative publicity could harm his hotel's reputation. Oliver is stunned by the spark of interest he feels for Irene and the more time he spends in her company, the more vibrant and alive he feels. While he can be a little grumpy and close-mouthed, he is nothing but supportive of Irene throughout their investigation.

Irene's investigation takes many surprising twists and turns as Nick tries to downplay any involvement with her death. Although Irene is a little frightened by some of the strong arm tactics employed by the studio's hired goons, she refuses to give up digging for the truth. Will Irene and Oliver find the evidence they need to support her theory about that Nick is Gloria's killer?

Although there is plenty of danger surrounding them, Oliver and Irene find the time to explore their unexpected attraction for each other. While their romance is a delightful addition to unfolding story, the investigation into the suspicious deaths remains the main focus of the storyline.

The Girl Who Knew Too Much is a wonderful novel with a fantastic cast of characters and intriguing mysteries to solve. Amanda Quick deftly brings both the time period and setting vibrantly to life. Irene is a gutsy heroine who never lets anyone or anything deter her from finding the truth about the what happened to Gloria and Peggy. The killer's identity and motive for the murders are carefully concealed until the novel's dramatic conclusion. I thoroughly enjoyed this spellbinding novel and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical mysteries. show less

When a stressed-out author of historical romances is sent by her friends to a South Pacific Island complete with a crumbling castle, Kate Inskip is expecting a quiet vacation. It doesn't start well when she is accosted by a knife-wielding robber after a long flight, lost luggage, and missed connections. Kate takes her frustrations out on the thief and fights him off with techniques she learned in a two-week self-defense course.

Jared Hawthorne, the resort owner, arrives in time to see Kate show more overcoming the thief and doesn't wait to share the story with his resort employees. He's impressed with her skills and with her moxie. He is also intrigued by Kate. This is a new thing since he hasn't looked at a woman since the death of his wife some five years earlier.

Kate is less than impressed with Jared at first. He reminds of her of someone and she's too over-stressed, tired, and hungry to notice his good looks at first.

Romance grows slowly but the fact that they live thousands of miles apart could be a dealbreaker. Then there is the possibility that Jared is too much like his pirate ancestor. Something hinky is going on in the ruins of that castle and Jared isn't telling Kate what.

I enjoyed this contemporary romance. I liked that Kate was a strong, independent woman. I liked Jared too. He's made a good life for himself and his young son. I liked the island setting and the interesting characters who lived there. show less

The planet of St. Helens was discovered and settled from Earth when a curtain appeared in space above Earth. However, soon after the curtain was discovered and groups of settlers from the Pacific Northwest left to resettle St. Helens, the curtain disappeared stranding the colonists. Two hundred years have passed during which the Earth technology disintegrated due to something in the atmosphere and the settlers had to learn to use native materials to survive. The settlers also began to show more discover that they were developing paranormal powers that are growing stronger with each new generation.

In order to preserve society, the Founders decided that the family was the basic unit that needed to be strengthened. Marriages were permanent and therefore not to be entered into lightly. Businesses that did complicated tests were established to guide people into successful marriages with compatible people. Few, if any, contract marriages without going through these agencies.

One important point about the paranormal powers on St. Helens is that successful use depends on pairings of talents and prisms. The talents can do things but only if they can focus their powers through prisms.

In this story Amaryllis Lark is a very high talent prism. She is also illegitimate since her parents ran away together despite the fact that her father was already married. They died soon after they ran away leaving Amaryllis to be raised by her uncle and aunt in a small farming town where she was also actively ignored by her father's relatives and where she was the victim of cruelty because her parents never married. Amaryllis has made a new life for herself in New Seattle first at the university where her talents as a prism were honed and now in a business that contracts prisms to high level talents.

Lucas Trent is one such talent. He has made his fortune prospecting for and selling jelly-ice which is used to power everything on St. Helens. He is a hero in the Western Islands since he gathered a group of people to defeat pirates who were trying to take over the islands and the jelly-ice business. Now he needs a prism so that he can find out why his VP is selling out his business secrets.

The two couldn't be more opposite in character. Amaryllis is a definite rule follower and quite uptight; Lucas is more free-wheeling. Both are registering with a marriage bureau to find their best matches knowing that the other would never qualify. The only problem is that they are falling in love.

Well, not the only problem. Amaryllis is concerned that the death of her mentor at the university was not an accident and decides to look into it. Also a local politician seems to be using his charisma talent to convince potential donors to support his candidacy for governor. And the discovered VP isn't going away quietly and would still like her revenge on Lucas.

This was a fun story set in an interesting world. It was filled with adventure, danger, and witty banter. It was also an excellent romance. show less