The Girl Who Knew Too Much by Amanda Quick
Burning Cove series #1. Historical romantic mystery. 1930’s California.
The Burning Cove Hotel caters to the rich and famous. Reporter Irene Gleason discovers a once beautiful actress at the bottom of the pool. She and Oliver Ward, a once famous magician, investigate and find themselves in danger from the hidden killer.

Intriguing visit down Route 66 to this hotel of secrets.
The beginning can be a bit confusing, especially if listening to the story in audiobook format. Lots of side characters and even Irene changes her name. The audiobook to me sounded “tin y” as if it were actually recorded in the 30’s. Maybe it was on purpose but it also gave the story a campy vaudeville feel.
Overall I liked the mystery and the very slow burn romance. ( )

The Girl Who Knew Too Much
4 Stars

The exclusive Burning Cove resort caters to the whims of the rich and famous of Hollywood. Nevertheless, when tabloid journalist Irene Glasson stumbles across a body in the pool, she joins forces with the owner, former celebrity magician, Oliver Ward, who is as determined as she is to get to the dangerous secrets concealed beneath the glamourous California sun.

In this first book of the Burning Cove series, Amanda Quick has left Victorian London behind and relocated to Hollywood in the 1930s. This is an uncommon setting in historical romance, yet Quick successfully incorporates the glitz, glamour, and corruption of the time period within her well-established writing style.

While readers familiar with Quick's works will easily recognize her quintessential character types in Irene and Oliver, it is nevertheless very interesting to see the changes in attitude and behavior that befit the early 20th century. Irene and Oliver have strong chemistry, but find it difficult to trust given their past experiences. They often rub each other the wrong way and it takes time and effort on both their parts to realize that they are better off together than apart.

In terms of the suspense plot, there are two mysteries. The first concerns Irene's past and the second revolves around the murder at the resort. Both are well developed and come to satisfying conclusions although one is rather anti-climactic given the buildup.

In sum, Quick's first foray into this new period is very entertaining and I look forward to continuing with the series.

( )

I wasn't sure about the idea of 30s California as I really liked the period she has been writing in but after reading this, I'm a believer. In the last few years she's moved almost completely to the suspense side of romantic suspense and it just wasn't working for me. While this book has the usual JAK formula it has a new freshness in this time period. There's a sense of rejuvenation in the writing, a lightness that has certainly been missing from the last few contemporaries and kept me from having any excitement from the last Quick novel.

I've also been hanging around magicians and dreaming about one particular one so having one as the hero is a great case of divine timing. I really liked both of them and really appreciated that neither one of them took stupid risks, brought in the right people to help, and generally were just smart people. It's sad that's so rare.

So if you've been off her reading for a while, this is a good book to get back into her. Just don't expect much on the romance side. ( )

I have to admit that I'm quite besotted with this cover. I like how different it is, the crisscrossing of colorful squares over the image of the girl and I love the combination of the colors. Now, you should not choose a book just because of the cover, but I'm the first one to raise my hand to admit that I do it over and over again. But, I'm a bit cautious when it comes to historical romance because it's just not often my type of book. However, I discovered Amanda Quick years ago and she is one of few authors that I have come to like when it comes to historical romance. And, that's because her books have an element of suspects to them. And nothing spices a romance as a crime.

READ THE REST OF THE REVIEW OVER AT FRESH FICTION! ( )

Oh, this is a fun romp, in some ways a la Miss Fisher -- skirts the gritty edges of the underworld, embraces the golden age of Hollywood celebrity and very fast cars. I like the seriousness of the characters, and their clever, pragmatic solutions. Also, the shout outs to alternative lifestyles and a general commitment to integrity that is so lacking in many main characters. ( )