Jane L ThornleyRecensioni

This is a quick, light mystery that I found alternately fun to read and exasperating. A centuries-old lost treasure? Sign me up. An old house in Bermuda with all sorts of secret passages? I'll be right there. And-- there's something about a hero who picks up her knitting to calm down and think that appeals to me. But that same hero was the reason I often found the book exasperating. Emotionally, Phoebe McCabe is all over the place. One minute she's wisecracking and making me laugh, the next she has tears streaming down her face. One second, she's highly intelligent, the next she's too stupid to live.

Other reasons why Rogue Wave was rather hit-or-miss with me? It was way too easy to figure out whodunit, and... the editing was atrocious. Superfluous words, missing words, awkward wording-- too many instances that made my eyes do a little hiccup and go back to make their own edits. The series has promise, and reading Rogue Wave was an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon, but I doubt that Phoebe and I will be meeting again.½

Phoebe McCabe hasn't heard from Noel, her boyfriend, and her brother for a few months and she's getting worried. The pair are art thieves who steal art and return it to the rightful owners, though Interpol and other assorted gangs don't agree with their methods. So Phoebe and Max, her godfather, decide to find Noel and Tobias with the help of Sir Rupert Fox, Phoebe's knitting companion, and others.
This is such a great series. This book was on my reader this morning and I've just kept reading, anxious to see what happens next. It's an action-packed ride, and now that I've finished, I feel I can finally let my breath out. The story goes from London to Rome to Jamaica. Poor Phoebe has been battered in some of the previous books, and while she takes a share of bumps and bruises here, she's a much stronger woman in a lot of ways. It hasn't been easy for her to have her brother and boyfriend as criminals. She's gone through some hoops to justify their 'Robin Hood' crimes, and it all comes to a head here.
As always, the supplementary characters add a lot to the story. Peaches is a great new addition, and I love the glimpses of Serafina's various abilities. Foxy and his knitting are always welcome. As a knitter myself, I love how Ms. Thornley makes it such an integral part of the story for Phoebe and Foxy. I feared for Phoebe's well-worn knitting bag which is such a part of her character.
I can't wait to see what happens next for Phoebe, Noel, and the rest of the gang. Fingers crossed, but I expect Phoebe will somehow get in more trouble.

Jenna Elson has returned to London to help her Aunt Clair after the death of Uncle Dan, Clair's brother. The police have ruled it accidental, but Clair is convinced that Dan was murdered by one of their neighbors. Clair has been bound to a wheelchair since childhood and is also agoraphobic, so it's up to Jenna to investigate even if she thinks her aunt may be having fantasies.
Clair was always the impractical guardian, encouraging Jenna to escape to the rooftops and be Clair's eyes, reporting back on the world that Clair will never see. Now Jenna can use that ability to spy on the neighbors and try to find Dan's killer.
The neighbors are an eclectic group, worthy of participation in a Christie story. There's the odd painter of slasher nudes, the handsome and esteemed Shakespearean actor, the lonely old lady and her cats, and more. As Jenna eavesdrops and learns more, she becomes suspicious of the two young men her aunt has hired, one to tear up the garden and the other to instruct Clair on her technology skills. Then there are more murders though Jenna suffers a fall and a head injury which gives her partial amnesia.
I loved the idea of a person 'roofing' as Jenna calls it. London is a perfect city for this with it's rowhouses and chimney sentinels. Dickens certainly used this idea, and I've read numerous Regency and Victorian historicals where roofs were used for passages by cat burglars and spies. This is the first book set in modern times that I've read where someone takes advantage of the aerial roadways, and it fits in perfectly here. Jenna's backstory explains her fascination with going up and about.
No one is whom they seem in this thriller. I admit I figured out the killer pretty early though I was surprised at another little twist, but the characters are very interesting and different, fun to read about. I liked how Ms. Thornley portrays Jenna's viewpoint of them as she watches them from the roofs versus once she actually starts to interact with them. She finds she has misunderstood much of what she saw from a distance which only makes the mystery more puzzling and frustrating with her mind only remembering partial flashes of what happened.
I must give a special shout-out to Mac, Uncle Dan's dog. He is just adorable and has his own place in the cast of characters.
There are two more books planned in this series and I look forward to them both, wanting to read more of Jenna's marvelous eyeprints from the roofs of London.

I've read the books in this series out of order, but I'm finally caught up, saving the first book for last (and now I'm ready for the next one). This is the introduction to Phoebe McCabe, her godfather, Max, and his son, Noel. Phoebe is enmeshed in their schemes for treasure hunting though she is only looking for her brother, Toby. Add in a reclusive author and some murder and the reader will find that this series starts with a bang and only gets better as it goes along.

Well, the first book in this wonderful series is still on my TBR pile. Somehow I read the next two and when this latest one came out, I was too excited to go back as I wanted to see what happens next to Phoebe McCabe, antiquity expert and knitter extraordinaire. (I promise to go back to Rogue Wave soon and see how Phoebe's capers all began).
In this adventure Phoebe is involved with the Russian mafia. Yagar, or Yaggie as Phoebe calls him, is ruthless and bears a grudge against Phoebe's old friend, Foxy. Phoebe and her 'crew' must disrupt his plans and save the day in typical Phoebe fashion.
Phoebe, as always, is wonderful. She seems a little more resigned to the criminal aspect of her antiquities career and as a result feels freer to assert herself. She's grown over the series and I like that very much. Her cohorts are all involved in the story though I confess I was waiting and waiting for Noel to appear. There's lots of knitting too! Another great book in this series.

I've somehow read all these books out of order, not that it seems to have mattered much, but now I need to go back to book 1.
Phoebe McCabe has another adventure along the Amalfi coast this time. She and Sir Rupert travel to a villa there to appraise its contents, not that there appear to be much in the way of treasure. But a missing Etruscan gold horde has all sorts of people hunting it, and Phoebe is drawn in deeper and deeper.
I would have liked a little more Noel, but this was a great mystery read that I thoroughly enjoyed.½

I've had this book on my TBR pile for a while and finally had the chance to pick it up and read it. I admit I didn't read the first book in the series (though I'm going back for books 1 and 3 now), but I found that this works well as a standalone story.
Phoebe McCabe is part-owner of an antique store in London that specializes in carpets among other objects. Phoebe is also on Interpol's radar due to her brother, Toby, and her partner's son, Noel, stealing a treasure (in the first book). She's determined to bring them to justice because of their treachery.
However, Phoebe is drawn back into intrigues as her shop is broken into and she discovers a secret left by her brother. This sets her off on an adventure to Istanbul and a reunion of sorts.
The story is well-written and Phoebe is an interesting character, a bit impetuous but loveable all the same. Besides her interest in fiber arts (I learned a lot about carpets), Phoebe is a knitter and uses the craft to calm herself when things get too crazy. As I said above, I'm going back for the other books in this intriguing mystery series.