REVIEW: The Starlet Spy by Rachel Scott McDaniel
Hollywood Star Turns Spy
In 1943, Movie producer Henrik Zoltan approaches Amelie Blake under the guise of offering the Hollywood star a leading part in his upcoming film, but he has a more meaningful role in mind. Amelie’s homeland of Sweden declared neutrality in the war, but Stockholm has become the ‘Casablanca of the North.’ When top-secret atomic research goes missing in Sweden, the Allied forces scramble to recover the files before they fall into Nazi hands.
The United States Office of Strategic Services (OSS) needs someone who’s subtle enough to spy on the Swedish elite without triggering suspicion. Who better than the “all beauty, no brains” Scandinavian starlet? Fluent in three languages and possessing a brilliant memory, Amelie loathes being labeled witless but uses the misconception as her disguise. She’s tasked with searching for the crucial files, but Finn Ristaffason keeps getting in her way. Is the charming shipping magnate after the missing research? Or does he have other reasons for showing up at her every turn?
With the Gestapo on her heels, Amelie must rely on her smarts in addition to her acting skills to survive a world of deadly spies and counterspies.
Dear Rachel Scott McDaniel,
Okay, yes the cover caught my eye but the plot was what made me want to read this book. Ooh, intrigue in Sweden, atomic secrets, and a heroine who needs to disguise her smarts while also using them.
Amelie Blake is a Hollywood star just finishing her most recent film when a noted European immigre director invites her out to “discuss his upcoming movie.” That is, of course, not at all what they talk about and before Amelie knows it, she’s on a plane to Toronto to Camp X to get a crash course in espionage and self defense. Reeling from lack of sleep, she’s next flown to Scotland before the final hop to Stockholm. There Amelie does get to finally reunite with her mother, whom she hasn’t seen in years, as well as explain why Mamma needs to act wan and weak for a little while longer to bolster the supposed reason why Amelie has appeared home after traveling through war zones. Though Sweden is neutral, every other country around them is at war.
But soon Amelie is headed to the country estate of a man suspected by the OSS of having business with Germany (not illegal as Sweden is neutral but morally bankrupt as far as Amelie is concerned). Notes on atomic secrets were lost during the evacuation of Denmark’s Jews to Sweden and everyone is desperate to get their hands on them. There are issues in Amelie’s past, as well as that of her mother, that come to light during her stay there as she tries to determine who to trust, who to suspect, and where that darn briefcase of secrets is. Small sparks begin between Amelie and Finn but both have been mistaken about love in the past and neither is eager to risk their heart again.
While I love that Amelie is not the dumb blonde she tries to appear to be, I hate that she has to hide her intelligence behind a façade of silliness. Amelie also realizes that she’s not quite as good an actress as she thinks when this cover slips a few times. She also has a special “talent” of being able to remember anything written that she focuses on though this is underused in the story.
The romance is slow burn partly due to what I mentioned above and partly because Finn is suspicious of why Amelie is there. Another character basically calls Amelie out very early about why she left her “oh, so sick” mother back in Stockholm despite that being her reason to fly from LA to Sweden. No one else mentions it again but it is a niggling plot hole for me.
The middle section of the book is mainly setting up characters, suspicions, and counter suspicions. Amelie observes people, asks some questions of others, uses her newly acquired lockpicking skills, and tries to keep Finn from discovering that she’s investigating him. Things move a bit slowly as far as cloak and daggering goes. There is a lot about Sweden though, which I enjoyed reading about. Amelie’s faith is important to her but this is mainly shown by her mentally giving thanks and credit to God for the important things in her life.
Then things start to pick up. In one lovely scene, Amalie finally confesses to Finn about the long ago meeting they had when he crushed her teen dreams and that it made her a stronger person who began to view her own self worth as coming from inside rather than as a validation from a man. Finn apologizes for his past self. Then later on Finn confesses that Amelie as she is then – with no make-up and wearing a bathrobe – is lovelier to him than any glammed up version. Yeah, I could tell he was falling hard for her. The action finally kicks back into gear and it’s here that Amelie’s intelligence is finally allowed to shine while she and Finn chase down clues and leads. Yay that it’s Amelie who puts the clues together. Boo that the villain goes into gleeful exposition mode.
Overall, I really liked the unusual WWII setting and that Amelie is smart and figures things out. The Author’s Note information was fun to read, too. Now I must youtube to see what the hambo dance looks like. B-
~Jayne
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@Jayne: this does sound good!
FYI: You reviewed Elusive Harmony (The Warrender Saga Book 10) by Mary Burchell a few years ago. I see that it is currently free for US Kindle readers.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07KCCLMMC/ref=ya_aw_dod_pi?ie=UTF8&psc=1
@Kareni: Actually most if not all of the Warrender Saga books and some of the other new releases are all on KU now. Thanks for mentioning it so people can check them out.
@Kareni: If you decide to try it, don’t read the Author’s notes at the end until you’re finished. It’s amazing how many real life things are in the story and there are some “coincidental but it works for the plot” things as well.
Thank you, Jayne!