I tried. I walked away and gave it a few days, and tried again. I couldn’t do it. While the series started off strong, and interesting, it has bottomed out with this book, wallowing in mediocrity with bland and tedious descriptions of every little thing (they went to an automat; she describes what an automat looks like, then describes all the categories displayed, then describes Amory and Milo getting change for the machines, then getting their trays, then which food they’re choosing). It’s endless. And the paragraphs of Amory’s internal dialog outnumber actual dialog by at least 5 to 1. I have decided that the abundance of internal dialog that has become so common in most of today’s mysteries is because authors and editors are forced to assume their average reader is stupid, and so lacking in critical thinking that they must be led through the steps of the mystery like a particularly dim child. The misanthrope in me understands the likely necessity, but I am not stupid, and I’m quite capable of thinking critically, so I find the trend irritating.

Oh, and speaking of irritating trends: wonder of wonders, she’s pregnant, only she doesn’t know yet, even though it’s obvious even to someone like me, who has never so much as had a scare. I’m willing to bet .50 cents that Milo will figure it out before she does.

And speaking of Milo – he’s an ass. I’m assuming the author is going for something akin to insouciance, but really, just an ass. He talks down to Amory more often than he ever has anything nice to say to her, and she just takes it. It’s all way too stiff-upper-lip for my patience.

It’s a shame to see this series go to the dogs, but after this one I can’t imagine it rebounding in my eyes, unless Amory were to ditch Milo in some spectacular fashion, and that isn’t going to happen, so instead I’m going to ditch the series and re-claim valuable bookshelf space. ( )

I'm a big fan of this series, I have to admit. OK, it all demands that you suspend your disbelief at the improbability of Amory and Milo getting involved in murder cases every few months. But once you do that, just go with the flow and enjoy the ride.

This one sees the couple in New York for the wedding of an old friend of Amory's. Prohibition is in full swing, so too are gangsters, molls, speakeasies and shady characters. Everyone seems to have a secret. Will our dashing duo solve the case? Will they survive?

Whilst this is fine to read as a stand-alone, what I like about the series is the developing relationship between the married couple, and this one throws in some news which will possibly change their future forever...

Fun and diverting, you can't argue with this well-written series. 4 stars. Bring on the next one! ( )

Whoopee! For once Amory didn't wail, carp, bitch, & whine about Milo and him being untrustworthy in the past... One became so tired of that, so off-putting.

Amory & Milo are invited to a wedding in New York when, of course, a murder strikes... on the front door no less

Gambling, pranks, gangsters... crooks & con-men...

A fast & interesting read. ( )

I liked the mystery and setting of this one, but I happen to dislike story lines involving pregnancy, especially when the author drops hints that make it obvious to the reader that the character is pregnant but the character is clueless. That made the story a little less enjoyable for me, personally, for which my own bias/preferences are mainly to blame. ( )

A Dangerous Engagement is the sixth Amory Ames mystery, but the first one I have read in the series. Amory and her husband Milo arrive in New York near the end of Prohibition so Amory can stand up for her childhood friend Tabitha who is marrying a young man named Tom. Amory senses Tabitha is worried about something and thinks it might have something to do with one of the groomsmen who is rumored to have ties to the notorious gangster Leon de Lora. However, before she can discover what’s up, someone is murdered right in front of her host’s townhouse.

A Dangerous Engagement was an enjoyable mystery. I like Amory and her relationship with her husband Milo which is not free of conflict. I like that they are not a Tommy and Tuppence sort of duo on the same page. Instead, Milo is not so much interested in seeking justice here, there, and everywhere and wonders what business this has to do with Amory.

The mystery is also fair. The information needed to solve the mystery is available to us at the same time Amory learns it. However, it’s more a case of revelation than deduction. When you like all or most of the characters, there is dramatic tension in learning this person you like is really the murderer. I think the solution was interesting but a bit of a cop-out.

A Dangerous Engagement will be released on September 3rd. I received an e-galley from the publisher through NetGalley.

A Dangerous Engagement at St. Martin’s Press | Macmillan

Ashley Weaver

https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2019/08/09/9781250159779/ ( )