Review - The Abduction of Rosalind Thorne

Darcie Wilde is the award-winning author of stylishly adventurous historical mysteries and romances, including the Useful Woman Mystery Series and the Rosalind Thorne Mysteries, both Regency-set series inspired by the novels of Jane Austen, as well as the Regency Makeover Trilogy. She has also written, under the name Sarah Zettel, Locus and Philip K. Dick Award-winning novels and was a New York Times Notable Books of the Year selection. She lives in Michigan and can be found online at DarcieWildeRomance.com.

This series is inspired by Jane Austen.  "Rosalind carries the soul of Sherlock Holmes in the world of Elizabeth Bennet, and it's a hard combination to beat." —BookPage 

I have been a fan since the beginning of this series, see below for past reviews.

Penguin Publishing

1)  A Useful Woman (click here)

2) A Purely Private Matter (click here) 

3)  And Dangerous To Know (click here) 

4) A Lady Compromised no review 

5) A Counterfeit Suitor (click here) 

Kensington Publishing (numbering started over)

1) The Secret of the Lost Pearls (click here) 

2016 Guest Post  (click here) 

2017 Guest Post  (click here) 

Author: Darcie Wilde

Copyright: June 2026 (Kensington Books) 288 pgs

Series: 4th in A Useful Woman Mysteries

Sensuality: Mild

Mystery Sub-genre: Historical cozy, historical amateur sleuth, woman sleuth

Main Character: Rosalind Thorne, former heiress now survives helping the rich with inquiries

Setting: Regency era 1800s, London

Obtained Through: Netgalley for honest review

Book Blurb: "Rosalind is newly, happily engaged to ex-Bow Street officer Adam Harkness, but lunching with the new fiancée of her old love is still discomfiting. Yet, Clara Kinsdale needs her help, and Rosalind is not one to turn away a lady in distress. It seems Clara's father, Sir Anthony Kinsdale, has fallen for beautiful widow Mrs. Sylvia Lynn—who may be a fortune hunter, or worse . . .

     Sir Anthony is a profligate baronet, who has pinned his financial hopes on two events: Clara's marriage, and his horse winning the upcoming sweepstakes at Lansdown, on which he has wagered heavily. Clara is afraid that her father is being fleeced by the charming—and cunning—Mrs. Lynn and wants Rosalind to expose her.

     But Clara does not realize that her sisters, Elizabeth and Cynthia, are harboring their own secrets and Elizabeth especially will do whatever she must to obstruct plans to separate their father from Mrs. Lynn.

     Rosalind and Adam travel to Bath to meet the family. But their gathering is interrupted by Admiral Walsingham, who is leasing Kinsdale House. Despite his dire finances, Sir Anthony is evicting the admiral—though his reasons appear laughable. Not laughable is that Sir Anthony is found dead soon after their argument, having apparently tumbled from his bedroom window while intoxicated.

     It would be easy to assume the tragedy was an accident, except Admiral Walsingham is found dead at nearly the same time. Secrets, schemes, fraud and forbidden love all drag Rosalind and Adam into a web of high-stakes gambling, murder—and extreme danger. But can they unravel it before they become the next victims."

My Thoughts:

Well done Darcie Wilde! Characters are all spot on great, the mystery is twisty and even though I suspected the person I was never sure. The atmosphere had me on edge, even during a simply dinner.  The killer reveal had plenty of tension and had me invested.  I love Rosalind and her fiancé Adam, plus the dynamic of her ex-fiancé's handling the situation was so well done.  All of the suspects had plenty of motive to go around.  A great addition to the series. I highly recommend to fans of historical mystery.

Rating: Near Perfect - Buy two copies: one for you and one for a friend.

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Thriller Movie Review - Eagle Eye

Here is another fast paced action thriller, I'm on a roll. I promise next week's won't be so... explosive.  This movie came out in 2009, but its subject matter seems more relevant today with AI everywhere.  How's that for a teaser!?

What it's about:

"Jerry Shaw (Shia LaBeouf) and Rachel Holloman (Michelle Monaghan) are two strangers whose lives are suddenly thrown into turmoil by a mysterious woman they have never met. Threatening their lives and family, the unseen caller uses everyday technology to control their actions and push them into increasing danger. As events escalate, Jerry and Rachel become the country's most-wanted fugitives and must figure out what is happening to them."

Taglines: "If you want to live you will obey"

"Don't walk. Run."

Cast:

-- Shia LaBeouf as Jerry Shaw

-- William Sadleras Jerry's Dad

-- Michelle Monaghan as Rachel Holloman

-- Billy Bob Thornton as Agent Thomas Morgan

-- Rosario Dawson as Zoe Perez

-- Michael Chiklis as Defense Secretary Callister

-- Anthony Mackie as Major William Bowman

-- Ethan Embry as Agent Toby Grant

-- Director:  D.J. Caruso

-- Writers:  John Glenn, Travis Wright, and Hillary Seitz

    

Rated PG-13  1 hour 58 minutes

       

Rotten Tomatoes 27% and Viewers 62%:

-- "Eagle Eye is a totally derivative, unoriginal techno-thriller, cribbing scenes and ideas from better films. ... But it's also thoroughly entertaining." Sonny Bunch-Washington Times

-- "...one could certainly do far worse as far as movies of this ilk go." David Nusair-Reel Film Reviews

-- "What, you can't relate to someone being controlled by an omniscient machine?" Jules Brenner-Cinema Signals

-- "It's going to make you want to take the batteries out of your cell phone... An intelligent nail biter." Ben Mankewicz-At the Movies

-- "Even though it clearly resides in the realm of science fiction, it appears to be set in the present day, which is more than enough to tweak even the most rational person's sense of paranoia." Jamews Kendrick-Q Network Film Desk

Noteworthy awards or rankings:

-- Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA 

2009 Nominee Saturn Award:  Best Science Fiction Film

-- ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards

2010 Winner ASCAP Award:  Top Box Office Films

-- ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards

2009 Winner ASCAP Award:  Top Box Office Films

-- BET Awards

2009 Nominee Best Actress: Rosario Dawson

-- Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA

2009 Nominee Golden Reel Award

Best Sound Editing:  Sound Effects and Foley in a Feature Film

-- MTV Movie + TV Awards

2009 Nominee MTV Movie Award 

Best Male Performance:  Shia LaBeouf

-- People's Choice Awards, USA

2009 Nominee People's Choice Award

Favorite Movie Drama

-- California on Location Awards

2008 Winner COLA:  Location Team of the Year

-- Empire Awards, UK

2009 Nominee Empire Award: Best Thriller

-- Visual Effects Society Awards

2009 Nominee VES Award:  Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Feature Motion Picture

-- Society of Camera Operators

2009 Nominee Camera Operator of the Year Award:  Martin Schaer

     

Trivia (from IMDB):

-- Shia LaBeouf stated that during filming, an FBI agent told him and the cast that one in every five phone calls someone makes is recorded. To prove this, the agent had him listen to a phone call he made two years prior to filming.

-- Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan did eighty percent of their stunts.

-- ARIIA is voiced by Julianne Moore, who chose to go uncredited.

-- According to Shia LaBeouf, in order to become emotional for the funeral scene, he listened to Judy Garland's "Over The Rainbow." He stated that he "breaks down" when hearing that song.

-- The design of Eagle Eye is very similar to the detection arrays for a Neutrino Detector - rows upon rows of orange glass globes in an underground, water filled bunker.

-- When Rachel is at the bar with her friends, the song "Sometime Around Midnight" by The Airborne Toxic Event can be heard in the background. D.J. Caruso, the director of "Eagle Eye", also directed the music video for "Sometime Around Midnight".

-- Was the first film released in September since Sweet Home Alabama (2002) to gross over $100 million.

-- The fake passport given to Rachel Holloman (Michelle Monaghan) - shows her date of birth as 23 March 1980. Monaghan's date of birth is 23 March 1976.

-- Both Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan appear in Constantine (2005)

-- The distinctive church seen in the Chicago establishing shot (around 8 minutes in) is St. James Catholic Church in the 2900 block of South Wabash Ave. The building one block south of the church, which is passed by the "L" train as the shot ends, is the Arthur S Keating Sports Center, also on South Wabash.

-- Rosario Dawson (Agent Perez), Michael Chiklis (Def. Sec. Callister), and Anthony Mackie (Major Bowman) all starred in comic book movies based on Marvel properties. Dawson as Claire Temple on Netflix' Daredevil (2015) and related series, Chiklis as Ben Grimm in Fantastic Four (2005) and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007), and Mackie as Sam Wilson (the Falcon) in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

    

My Thoughts:

I suggest you suspend your disbelief and at the beginning of this movie ask yourself, could AI get to this point?

Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan's acting give this action script the heart and soul it needed. With all the computer stuff happening it is these two plus Billy Bob Thornton that bring home the human element and how critical it remains.

There is a lot of action, but thankfully the quieter moments develop the characters and give us some heartfelt touches. The camerawork is standard for action movies, but the color pallet is skewed sometimes to give it a more sci-fi touch.  This is a thriller because several lives are at stake and a clock is counting down. Within everything happening, there is the question of what happened to Jerry Shaw's (Shia LaBeouf's) brother. With the thriller aspects and mystery around Jerry's brother, I felt this was a good fit as a mystery movie.

Very clever and thought provoking on pushing the AI envelope.  I consider this movie like Jurassic Park: "Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should." Only instead of dinosaurs it is Artificial Intelligence. Combine that with the 1983 movie War Games where the human element has been replaced by computers and you have Eagle Eye.  I think the concept is a good one and it is brought to life competently IMHO. I was on the edge of my seat. Give it a try for a lightening speed ride one night.

Movie Trailer:

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Review - One Final Turn

An Amazon Editors’ Pick for Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense (June 2025)

“There’s a definite swoon factor from the love and espionage angle here―readers will be reminded of Hitchcock’s Notorious (1946) and Curtiz’s Casablanca as Electra uses all her skills to once again thwart the secret plans of the Nazis. A rip-roaring finale for a terrific series.”―Booklist (Starred Review)

“Satisfying . . . Weaver manages to tie up the series’ loose ends without shortchanging the core chase plot. Readers will miss Electra and her cohort, but Weaver has given them a worthy send-off.”―Publishers Weekly

I have been following this series from the beginning so you can check out the reviews of the previous books.  Perhaps the title gives it away, but this is the fifth and final installment in the Electra McDonnell series. While it isn't necessary to read the prior books in the series, it will make this book that much more meaningful to know Electra's growth and the dynamics between her and former boss Major Ramsey.

Find out how this final novel stands up, particularly as a closing to the series.

1)  A Peculiar Combination (click here) 

2) A Key to Deceit (click here) 

3) Playing it Safe (click here) 

4)  Locked in Pursuit (click here) 

Guest post 2021 (click here) 

Author: Ashley Weaver

Copyright: June 2025 (Minotaur Books) 304 pgs

Series: 5th in Electra McDonnell Mysteries

Sensuality: mild

Mystery Sub-genre: Historical espionage, historical suspense

Main Character: Ellie McDonnell, former safe-cracker now a spy for Britain

Setting: 1940s  (WWII) Lisbon, Portugal 

Obtained Through: Library find

Book Blurb: "Ellie McDonnell is about to embark on her most perilous mission yet: go to Lisbon, Portugal to save her beloved cousin Toby who has reportedly escaped from a German prisoner of war camp. Toby has been missing since the Battle of Dunkirk and Ellie had all but lost hope in ever seeing him again until Major Ramsey, the British military intelligence officer she had been working closely with over the past few months, shared the news he’d intercepted.

Nothing will stop Ellie from finding her cousin, not even the awkward experience of having to travel to an unknown country with Ramsey after he’d dismissed her for being untrustworthy just as she’d realized she had fallen in love with him. Under the supervision of Captain Archie Blandings, a charming intelligence officer based in Lisbon, Ellie meets with undercover operatives to track down where Toby might be hiding from the Nazis and whether they are too late to safely recover him, all the while fighting her feelings for Ramsey and the incessant burden of war looming around her at every turn."

My Thoughts:

Electra is sassy, brave, and determined to do whatever it takes to get Toby back. She is ensure and full of doubts working alongside Major Ramsey again.     

Lisbon-based Captain Archie Blandings is charming and enigmatic. He who recruited Ellie to assist in finding the escape route and protect it from the Germans.

Major Ramsey, a British intelligence officer who was her handler, is stern and appears to be cold. But still waters run deep in his case. 

Having been fired by Major Ramsay, Electra goes on a mission without him, hoping to find her missing cousin. Portugal is a hotbed of intrigue and Electra finds out quickly just how dangerous it is. Excellent plot. 

The main story has Ellie going to Lisbon to try to locate her cousin, Toby, who is missing in action but reportedly escaped a German POW camp.  Toby and a few fellow prisoners have possibly made their way through an escape route toward Lisbon.  The mission is to contact members of the resistance aiding escapees and get them to safety while also keeping the route a secret. 

Ramsey and Elle work frantically to track down and confirm rumors about the POWs while racing against the Germans. The Germans are intent on capturing the escapees to extract info about the route used to escape German territory and shut it down, no matter the human cost. 

This novel continues the secondary story line of Ellie trying to uncover the truth of her deceased parents' past. Her mother supposedly killed her father, but this novel reveals the truth of her father’s death.   

The story contains lots of action without overdoing it, lock-picking and clandestine meetings, and lightning fast thinking on their feet. some violence is a part of the story, descriptions are not graphic though.

The wrap-up has all the remaining threads neatly worked out, plus Ellie finds the truth about her parents in an unexpected and tense scene. Very well done there.  The final wrap-up was so satisfying and what, I dare say, most readers wanted. 

The mystery/mission itself was plausible and contains danger and a ticking clock. The action scenes are well done and riveting, with an exotic setting and solid plot. It is an overall truly good suspense-intrigue mystery. Great fun and most satisfying.

I ask the author, Ashley Weaver, to please continue writing this series as self published. There is more that Electra and Major Ramsey can do!  I am honestly bummed that this is the last book and I always looked forward to the next in the series.  

Here is an interview with the author about this final book in the series:

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Movie Review - The Long Kiss Goodnight

This is a high octane, action movie with a spy element. This was not from a book, solely written for movie. Although there was a book cobbled together from the movie that wasn't done well at all, so don't bother there.  Geena Davis was trying to get some traction for acting career and her husband was the director. See what I thought of this movie. 

What it's about:

Eight years ago Samantha Caine crawled out of a river in Pennsylvania, pregnant with amnesia. She now lives in small town Honesdale, PA with her daughter, Caitlin. Samantha is wholesome and has a job teaching in the local school. She has had private investigators trying to figure out who she was. The latest is Mitch Henessey (Samuel L. Jackson), a cheaper option. But, after a serious bump on her head, some old skills start to return along with scatter memories sending Samantha and Mitch on new leads. Unfortunately, this all attracts the attention of some deadly people from her past.

Taglines:

"...the most spectacular action scenes you've ever seen!"

"Eight years ago she lost her memory. Now, a detective must help her remember the past before it buries them both. What's forgotten is not always gone."

Cast:

Geena Davis as Samantha Caine (Charly)

Samuel L. Jackson as Mitch Henessey

Yvonne Zima as Caitlin

Tom Amandes as boyfriend Hal

David Morse as Luke 

Melina Kanakaredes as Trin

Director: Renny Harlin

Writer: Shane Black

Rated R  2 hours 1 minute

Strong language, alcohol & drug use, some bloody violent scenes

    

Rotten Tomatoes 67% Viewers 71% and critics reviews:

-- "...what makes the film soar—and it does, often—are the performances led by an absolutely commanding Davis. Jackson is no slouch either. This is one of his best" Frank J Avella-The Contending

-- "With fast-paced adventure, detonative mayhem, a decent body count, and an unflinching approach to mouthy dialogue, the project is a shining example of an overlooked actioner." Mike Massie-Gone With The Twins

-- "Despite its often basic action structure, there is enough substance in the script to intrigue those viewers who normally look down on movies loaded-up with blasts, blows and blood." Leigh Paatsch-Herald Sun (Australia)

-- "The Long Kiss Goodnight is the fall's best summer movie." David Ansen-Newsweek

-- "There's an excessive amount of excess -- a mind-numbing plurality of firearm battles, vehicular explosions and brutally frank sexual talk." Desson Thomson-Washington Post

-- "This is almost a poster child for mediocre mid-90s action cinema." Grant Watson-Fiction Machine

-- "The only saving graces are Davis's stripped-down, mean-as-a-wildcat portrayal of the Uzi-toting Charly, and Jackson's engagingly ineffectual turn." Geoff Andrew-Time Out

-- "With square-jawed grimaces and big guns, Geena Davis could be a convincing two-fisted bullet-spraying action hero -- if only she had a convincing movie in which to be one." Peter Stack-San Franciso Chronicle

-- "Here's the supersexy and action-charged Hollywood take on France's La Femme Nikita that Bridget Fonda couldn't pull off in her Girl Scoutish Point of No Return." Peter Travers-Rolling Stone

    

Noteworthy awards or rankings: 

-- Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA

1997 Nominee Saturn Award for Best Actress: Geena Davis

-- Image Awards (NAACP) 1997 Nominee Image Award:  Outstanding Lead Actor in a Motion Picture for Samuel L. Jackson

-- Young Artist Awards 1997 Nominee Young Artist Award Best Performance in a Feature Film - Actress Age Ten or Under for Yvonne Zima

    

Trivia (from IMDB):

-- During development, New Line Cinema considered turning the lead character into a male. Steven Seagal and Sylvester Stallone were considered as suitable choices, if the lead had gone that way.

-- At the time of its release, it was considered "by far New Line's biggest-budget production to date."

-- "Out in the cold" is an expression in intelligence circles for operatives that have gone rogue or missing. The physical, literal cold is used as a cinematic metaphor on multiple occasions in this film.

-- In the scene with Samantha and Mitch at the Dutch Cabins Motorcourt, there is a movie playing on the room TV. That movie is the classic noir film from 1973 titled "The Long Goodbye", starring Elliott Gould as the private detective Philip Marlowe.

-- The motel in Niagara Falls is actually Milford Manor, a former resort in Milford Bay, Muskoka, Ontario. As it was closed for good, it did not matter if it burned down, like Windemere House (which accidentally burned down during filming there.)

-- During an escape attempt, Geena Davis lights gas with a matchbook from Tops. Tops is a grocery store chain based in Buffalo, New York, but also has stores in Rochester, New York, and Pennsylvania.

-- When Samantha and Mitch go to the train station in New Jersey and Mitch goes into his trunk to get his gun, one of Mitch's case files in the car says "Marcia Brady".

-- The movie Argylle release 2024 shares the same premise of former spy with amnesia regains her memory to fight terrorists. Both films star Samuel L. Jackson. The female led roles of Geena Davis and Bryce Dallas Howard start the films with red hair and then reprise their former roles with bleach blonde short and straight hair with dark eye shadow.

-- On the The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (2014) on January 14, 2019, Samuel L. Jackson listed Mitch as his favorite role.

-- Samuel Jackson said in a GQ interview that he read the script and really wanted the role, but the studio said it was written as a white character. Jackson then met Geena and Renny at a Christmas party, and told them that he loved the scripted and wanted the role, and Renny said "You want to be in my film? Then you've got it.". And that was that.

-- Geena Davis and then-husband and director Renny Harlin checked how long she could hold her breath in their bathtub to prepare for the "water torture" scene. The three immersions lasted 51, 81 and 55 seconds of screen time.

    

My Thoughts:

Geena Davis goes from sweet suburban mom to foul-mouthed La Femme Nikita and Jason Bourne with shades of the Black Widow and the Dark Angel in the course of this movie. In fact La Femme Nikita, the Canadian television series, came out a year after this film was released. The original movie was done in 1990 but was a French release.  So you could say that Geena Davis' Charly paved the wave and set the bar for kick a$$ women action roles.  

This film has "over-the-top" action scenes, particularly for its time. The movie races along. Average camera work and fairly good script, but what really makes the movie is Geena Davis and Samuel L Jackson teamed together. Their dynamic is memorable.  Geena Davis' transformation is a testament to her acting because even in full blown "Charly" mode, she is still a mom and a little bit of Samantha can be seen peeking out.  

If you are okay with strong language, alcohol & drug use, some bloody violent scenes but still want some good acting, then this is a great option. This isn't Oscar material, but it is entertaining.

    

Movie Trailer:

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Review-The Kings Ransom

Janet Evanovich has written forty-seven bestsellers in her thirty-year career. In addition to her wildly popular Stephanie Plum novels, she has authored other bestselling series including: Recovery Agent series, Lizzy and Diesel series, Fox and O'Hare series, Knight and Moon series, the Alexandra Barnaby novels, and the graphic novel Troublemaker with her daughter.  This is the second novel in this new series and I had no problem picking up the storyline.

Author: Janet Evanovich

   

Copyright: Nov 2025 (Atria Books) 352 pgs

   

Series: 2nd in The Recovery Agent

   

Sensuality: Occasional swear words, some "f" bombs, adult topics

   

Mystery Sub-genre: Women Sleuth

   

Main Character: Gabriela Rose, a high-end recovery agent

  

Setting: Modern day, US, Italy, and Egypt

  

Obtained Through: Library find

  

Book Blurb: "Gabriela Rose, recovery agent extraordinaire, can find just about anything. Too bad she can’t seem to lose her gorgeous-but-infuriating ex-husband Rafer Jones. And now he needs her help. His cousin, Harley, is in trouble…big trouble.

As the president of a too-big-to-fail bank, he [Harley] invested an astronomical amount of money in insuring some of the world’s most priceless artifacts at the urging of his board. It seemed like a low-risk, high-reward business move, so he jumped in with both feet. But recently, these insured pieces started going missing and worse, there’s no paper trail of Harley being directed to make these risky investments. Unless the artwork can be recovered soon, it looks like Harley is going to be heading to jail as the fall guy for an ingenious crime.

Gabriela knows what she must do: travel around the world with Rafer to find the missing works of art, keep Harley out of jail, and save both his skin and his bank. Along the way, she’ll encounter corruption, threats, murder, mysterious dark forces behind a global conspiracy to destroy the world’s wealth, and a nefarious villain who will stop at nothing to bring the world to the brink of ruin."

My Thoughts:

Gabriela Rose is resourceful and a go-getter who has built her reputation around the world. She also has a fondness for the cartoon Scrooge McDuck. 

Her ex-husband, Rafer Jones, is handsome and knows how to get under her skin and tries to charm her, which she counters smoothly. Rafer's cousin, Harley, is handsome and charming but very naïve and wants wealth without working hard for it. 

"Jim" is the guide and driver in Egypt for the crew. I loved this character, he was the break-out gem. He always has a relative who can help them with whatever they need.

This novel was a touch of "Lara Croft" meets the 1979 movie "Scavenger Hunt."  A little clarification on what Gabriela does: recovery agencies or the agents are people who pursue the debt owed by customers and businesses for banks or financial institutions.  But in this series she's hired to seek lost treasures, stolen heirlooms, or missing assets of any kind. 

The blurb doesn't say what the items stolen were. There were several paintings but key were the Rosetta Stone, and a solid gold funeral casket from a lesser known half brother of King Tut. I chose to read this because both those items peeked my interest.

I enjoyed the vicarious thrill as I felt the heat of the Egyptian desert and Cairo's bustling atmosphere. Great sense of place in this writing. There is some humor with Rafer-Gabriela banter and oddball characters, but it is unevenly paced (some high action moments then some slow rather dull scenes).  

There is an exciting and dangerous thief confrontation, but I particularly like the wrap-up. Nicely done on both counts.

I would consider this a lighter mystery read with some action-adventure vibes. It's good to break out of a rut or to read something that isn't dark or serious.

Rating: Excellent - A fun read, I'll follow this series 

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