Ellie Finds an Out of Town Mission Anything but Safe
I always like it when I find a series with a new premise. That was the case with the first Electra McDonnell book. Set in England in 1940, it features a safe cracker who winds up putting her skills to use for the government during the war. Playing It Safe is the third book in the series, and it was a mixed bag.
This book opens in October and the Blitz is here. Ellie is getting used to the nightly bombing raids, although it doesn’t make it any easier when the bombs start falling. She is happy when Major Ramsey contacts her again with a new job. She’s supposed to head to the port city of Sunderland under an assumed name and then await further instructions. While the lack of details doesn’t surprise her, it does frustrate her. The only clue she has is a book on birds.
When Ellie arrives, she is shocked when a man she has just met dies outside her boarding house. She is sure his death was anything but natural. But does it relate to her mission - whatever it is?
There were several things that went wrong with this book. The first is the story itself. It tries to do too much with so many plot points to take up page time and for us to remember. The result is an ending that rushes things to wrap things up. Yes, the end does make sense.
Obviously, since most of the book takes place out of Ellie’s native London, we don’t see as much of the rest of the cast. That’s a disappointment since I really like them. We do get some updates, including a big update on an ongoing storyline that has me anxious to read the next one.
Then, there’s the romantic triangle. With Ellie and Major Ramsey out of town on this mission, she spends a lot of time thinking about her feelings for him. Since I am decidedly not on team Ramsey (although I’m sure I’m on the losing side), this did not make me happy. Plus, there’s another guy that captures her attention. Enough already!
All this isn’t to say the book was bad. It was interesting to get another view of life in England in the early part of World War II. The new characters we meet are interesting, although there are so many of them we don’t get to fully know them. And there are parts of the story that are entertaining even if it could have been stronger overall.
The next in the series just came out in paperback, and I got it, so I will be moving on. Hopefully, it is stronger than Playing It Safe. Fans of the series will still be glad they read this, but if you are new to the series, start with book one.
Here are the rest of the Electra McDonnell Mysteries.
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