Oh, how I love Ashley Weaver and her electric Electra McDonnell mystery series! Electra is such a fun character because she comes from a background of thievery and other illegal activities, and is now trying to walk the straight and narrow as she assists the British government (and a very handsome Major) with covert missions during WWII. This would be a great first series for anyone looking to dip their toe into the historical mystery world because Ashley Weaver writes in a way that is so clear and easy to follow, while also crafting compelling whodunits in each book. And then there's the romance between Electra and Major Ramsey, a very fun will-they-won't-they that continues to bubble over in this latest installment. When does the next Electra McDonnell book come out? Because I needed it yesterday!

It's 1941, and the Germans have been bombing London.

A newspaper story about a robbery in a wealthy neighbourhood catches Electra's interest. It's not something her uncle Mick or any of the other criminals of their acquaintance know about, which she thinks is odd. She brings it to Major Ramsay, who says, essentially, No idea, not something of interest.

Then, the next day, he pulls her back in to help him with an inquiry into the very robbery and what it could mean to the British effort in the war against Germany.

Electra has two other activities on the go on her own, which Ramsay would disapprove of as she’s promised to avoid doing anything criminal as part of her familiy’s agreement with the Government. On the sly, to get info about the identities of those behind the robbery, she calls in a favour from a gang boss, who later asks her for help breaking into an office. And a friend begs Electra's help in recovering some compromising letters she wrote to a man she was having an affair with.

Also, Felix and Electra are trying to decide what to do with the information they've found out about her father's activities in the previous war. Electra decides to make a tentative connection with individuals running a flower shop that could have been involved in espionage years earlier.

And, the feelings between Electra and Ramsay are present and stronger. (I do wish I actually liked Ramsay, so I could cheer on this development. Oh well, I am probably in the minority in my dislike of the man.)

So, a lot going on. Ashley Weaver keeps things moving at a terrific pace, with Electra picking locks, bargaining with powerful people, putting clues together, and discovering where her heart lies.

There are also also several clues that lead to Lisbon, Portugal, with the ending pointing to a new, dangerous assignment for the ever-intrepid and quick on her feet Ellie McDonnell. I am eagerly awaiting this next instalment, which promises to have more espionage, more danger, and likely more romance.

Thank you to Netgalley and to St. Martin’s Press for this ARC in exchange for my review.

Locked in Pursuit is an excellent fourth installment in the Electra McDonnell series. Ellie is in pursuit of the truth about her father and her relationship with Major Ramsey. It's fast-paced, suspenseful, and fun with just enough humor and romance. It's light on WWII history, which is perfect for this series. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's press for my review copy of this book.

Ashley Weaver continues to deliver with this continuation of her series featuring Electra McDonnell. Set in wartime London, Ellie takes on new espionage projects in tandem with Major Ramsey of British intelligence. Her family’s locksmithing and safecracking skills make her useful in the spy world. The attraction between her and Major Ramsey adds to the story, as does the assortment of friends, family and colleagues from the world Ellie grew up in. Locked in Pursuit is an enjoyable, well-written bit of mystery/romantic suspense that should be on librarians’ lists of recommendable “ clean” books. Though not totally necessary, I would suggest reading the earlier titles in the series first.

Thank you Minotaur and NetGalley for the eARC of Locked in Pursuit! All opinions in this review are my own.

Locked in Pursuit is the fourth installment in the Electra McDonnell historical mystery series. I like that this mystery starts off differently than the others in the series. Typically, Major Ramsey contacts Ellie when he has a job to do, but this time, Ellie sees a string of suspicious robberies in the paper and contacts him about it.

While the mystery itself was interesting, my biggest complaint is that it didn't advance the larger storyline as much as previous books. While there are a few moments that deal with the mystery of Ellie's parents, overall little is revealed about the mystery of her father. However, it does include some great moments between Ellie and Major Ramsey, and it ends on a very exciting note so I am looking forward to book five!

I absolutely loved this!! I love historical fiction about WWII and this is a great one! I was hooked from the very beginning. I love that Ashley Weaver clearly did her homework on WWII, it only added to the story for me.

I came across this series not realizing it's a series but this book I felt like I was definitely missing the first couple books worth of context. That said, the mystery and intrigue, the characters and their interplay. Their interplay that intrigued me about the last book were definitely in play in this book. It's a lot more relationship driven than the last but that's explained a bit.
I just feel like a lot of the answers that come out of the ending would be clearer to someone who knew all of the initial questions.

#arc
#netgalley
#lockedinpursuit

Excellent fourth installment in the Electra McDonnell series. The stakes are getting higher all around with Ellie's pursuit of the truth about her father and her relationship with Major Ramsey. Good mystery interwoven in this story, without quite the tension as the last one, but overall a very satisfying read!

Another wonderful addition to the series - the stories keep getting better and better. Ellie is a compelling character and her adventurous spy missions are fascinating and kept me turning the pages well into the night. The cliffhanger has me begging for the next installment to come sooner rather than later; I can’t wait for the next one.

This series is compulsively readable. I just discovered it last month, and have read all four books in that time, three within one week.

This latest addition includes elements that made the other three successful - espionage, secrets, suspense and romance, to name a few. Electra, her Uncle Mick, Major Ramsey and even Constance are a solid team, working to keep a top-secret item from falling into the wrong hands. At the same time, Electra goes out on her own at times and makes a few questionable decisions that do not take into account her current and future path. This confuses the reader but at the same time, is not enough to detract from the overall story arc. I will continue to read the series and am already looking forward to number five.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Minotaur Books for providing me with a digital review copy.

This is the latest installment to my new favorite series. It has it all - handsome men, whip-smart heroine with a penchant for...well, outsmarting people, be they the law or others...solid writing and plot, and authentic historical feel. I am always immersed into WWII England and enjoy every second of it! This series just keeps getting better. Highly recommended!

Electra (Ellie) McDonnell is from a family of thieves. Given the choice of going to jail or working with Major Ramsey for the war effort, she chose freedom. A newspaper article describing the robbery at a diplomat’s party caught her attention. There was something that was not right about the robbery. No one in her former contacts knew about the robbery and none of the items stolen have shown up. Calling the article to Ramsey’s attention, they are assigned to look into it. Ellie had not heard from Ramsey for three months after they had gotten close on their last case. A romance threatens their working relationship and Ramsey had been keeping his distance. A second robbery occurs and there is a connection between the victims. They had both been on a recent flight from Lisbon. The murder of another passenger on that flight has Ramsey contacting an agent in Lisbon. A map of the location of vital minerals was being carried by one of the passengers and the Germans are desperate to find it. Ramsey needs Ellie’s contacts and special skills to find the map and retrieve it, but as they work together old sparks are rekindled.

Ellie has a tendency to impulsively act on her own without Ramsey’s knowledge. To find the robbers she asks a favor of one of her old connections. Unfortunately, nothing comes for free and he asks a favor in return. Ellie swore to give up all illegal activities when she went to work for Ramsey and this favor could destroy everything she has worked for. Ellie is also privately working to find her father’s murderer. Her mother was arrested and hung for the murder but Ellie has found information about her father that hints at his involvement in espionage during the previous war. There are some secrets that are still worth keeping and Ellie’s search has put her life in jeopardy. Fans of Susan Elia MacNeal’s Maggie Hope series will definitely find Ellie to be a character to follow. I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press - Minotaur for providing this book.

Locked in Pursuit is the fourth mystery in the Electra McDonnell historical mystery series. Set during World War II, Electra uses her safecracking skills to help the British government in the war efforts. When a rash of burglaries take place in the city and the criminals start to get desperate, Electra must beat them at their own game.

I have enjoyed this series from the very beginning and this book was no different. The world of wartime and spying that is created in these books is so engaging and I love reading about it. Electra is a great, strong lead character and I love her personality and her skills. The characters in this mystery make the series so great and I enjoy following all my with them as they do their best to help Britain during the war. If you are a fan of history, mysteries and espionage, this series is worth checking out. I can’t wait to see where the next book takes is, the hinting of the path forward at the end of this book has me wanting more.

This is still one of the most intriguing, unique, historical mystery series I have ever read, and being so very anxious to dive into this one, I am happy to say that I am not even remotely disappointed [if you could see my current record for DNF within the mystery- world, you'd understand why I am so excited]. This newest edition to this excellent series was a VERY good read.

A twisty, interesting story, Electra finding truths she's not sure she's ready to face, a villain I certainly never saw coming, Electra making choices that will haunt her for some time to come, and an ending that left me wanting book 5 R I G H T N O W, this book just kept me on the edge of my seat and amazed at just how fresh the whole book felt [by book 5, often the story gets stale, but not here thankfully].

Excellent mystery, excellent writing, excellent series. Well done Ms. Weaver, well done.

Thank you to NetGalley, Ashley Weaver, and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed getting to follow Electra McDonnell once again. I have enjoyed the previous books in the series. I do recommend reading the books in order. There is so much back story to all the characters.
Electra and her Uncle once again are called upon by Major Ramsey to help figure out what is going on when numerous burglaries are happening. But what they are taking makes no sense.
I loved seeing Electra and Major Ramsey’s relationship development a bit more. Though once it seems the relationship is going somewhere, something happens to put the brakes on it.
The ending left us on a cliffhanger.
I can’t wait to read the next book in the series!
Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Locked in Pursuit by Ashley Weaver has an interesting premise, but I did not like the writing style much and found the book difficult to read. Really this girl is a safe-cracker but does not seem to have any courage or nerves. And, we were constantly referred back to that kiss. I did not enjoy this book and I will not continue this series. Thank you to Net Galley for my e-ARC.

Locked in Pursuit by Ashley Weaver is the fourth installment in the Electra McDonnell series. The story takes place in 1940 Europe and Electra is assisting Major Ramsey with intelligence work while also pursuing her own investigations into a situation in her own family.

I enjoyed the combination of mystery and historical fiction in this novel as those are two of my favorite genres. However I felt that some elements of the plot moved too slowly and others too quickly. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had read the previous books in the series as there were frequent references to events that didn’t take place in this book.

I was very satisfied with this entry into the Electra McDonnell series! While in the previous books, the plot was severely hindered by the characters' romantic drama, this one had a nice balance. We finally see some decisions made and some movement in their overall arcs, and we get a new source of tension- Electra's past coming back to make her future look very uncertain. Locked in Pursuit gave us some new faces as well that were interesting, and developed some side characters to bring us a more well-rounded cast. I also thought the mystery here was well-done, with some red herrings and surprise twists that kept me on my toes. Can't wait to see where Electra goes next, and the setup for 5 promises even more action and danger, with a very personal motivation for Electra.

"This winter was the coldest I could remember. It seemed unfair, somehow, that we should have to contend with both the Nazis and this weather."
Ashley Weaver has once again penned a page turning cozy mystery during WW2! This series has been such a pleasure to read. With her romantic triangle, loyal, warm-hearted characters, murder and mystery, this has been one of the best series ever! I have anxiously anticipated this book for a year, and it did not disappoint. I flew through the pages until I got to the end. I am now looking forward to the next installment. I am still on team Major, but I love Felix, too. I do hope they all have a happily ever!
*I was given a copy of this book by the publisher, and this is my honest opinion.

Death and German agents!

The report of a puzzling robbery at a Diplomat’s dinner party has Electra McDonnell suspicious. Nothing adds up. None of her contacts have heard anything. (Electra had been a jewel thief and safecracker until military intelligence recruited her and her family to use their skills as part of the war effort.)
Having not heard from her recently injured handler, the aloof Major Gabriel Ramsey, for some months, Electra decides to approach him about the matter.
(There is the slight aspect of a growing attraction between Electra and Major Ramsey!)
There’s also the history of Electra’s mother. She was a condemned murderer, pregnant with Electra. Electra has been following clues trying to find out what the truth was behind what her mother’s actions.
Electra’s visit to the Major leads to the uncovering of German spies looking for something important that may have come from Lisbon. The mystery is what are they after?
Spies, glamour and suspected undercover foreign agents are all grist for the mill.
Intrigue, danger and romantic tension stalks the pages.

A St. Martin’s Press ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)