This book was the perfect ending to such a wonderful series. This series is one where you come for the mystery and stay for the characters. I was lucky to read an advance copy and let's just say I literally read it FOUR times. I just loved it that much.

There's nothing quite like a book that takes me back to my Portuguese roots! Ashley Weaver truly brings the sights and sounds of Lisbon to life in this thrilling mystery set during World War II.

Readers follow former thief, turned intelligence recruit, Ellie McDonnell, as she embarks on a mission to find her cousin who has escaped a German POW camp. The pages come to life as this brave gal takes in the beauty of the land during her mission.

With a healthy dose of romance and plenty of action, this novel is sure to ignite your travel desires! Even though this is the fifth book in a series I haven't read, I never once felt lost—everything flowed perfectly. I truly savored every page!

Many thanks to partners, @minotaur_books and @netgalley for this #gifted review e-copy!

One Final Turn is the fifth and final mystery in the Electra McDonnell series. Safecracker, Ellie, is going to Lisbon to help on a mission in Portugal that might just lead to answers about her missing cousin. This is her riskiest mission yet and there is danger around every corner. Will Ellie and the team be able to complete their mission and make it back to England unharmed or will the Nazis stop them in their tracks?

I have loved this series since the beginning and am sad to see it end. With that being said, this book was a great ending to this historical mystery series and I am really happy with how everything tied up. This was a great, engaging read that kept me on the edge of my seat. I love the characters in this series and really liked seeing Ellie and Ramsey work together again. If you are a historical mystery fan this is a great series to pick up. I’m sad to see it end, but am happy with the conclusion.

It’s finally time for One Final Turn to be released in the world! Why do I say finally? Not just because it’s been almost a year since the last book in the Electra McDonnell series was released. No, it’s more to do with the fact that I read my egalley of Ashley Weaver’s book way back in October! I happened upon the series in 2024 and started reading the books in October. I quickly blew through all four books on audio and when I realized the last book was being released this year, I put in my request and it was granted! I gave myself the gift of reading all five books in the same month and it was a glorious gift. This series is so very good and incredibly enjoyable and I think all historical mystery fans need to read it.

Here’s the book’s description:

Ellie McDonnell is about to embark on her most perilous mission: 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.

Now, how to review the final book in a series when I haven’t reviewed any of the others! What I love about this series is each book centres on a different mystery or case that Ellie and Ramsey are working on. It’s kind of like a crime or medical TV show - each episode focuses on one thing as a standalone but a central storyline is woven through the season. It’s best to read from the beginning, of course, since you really get to know the characters. The key things that are present in all five books and aren’t resolved until the end are the relationship between Ellie and Ramsey and the mystery and secrecy surrounding Ellie’s parents’ past. (But you better believe I’m not spoiling that for you today!)

I’ve written a lot lately that I’m loving the historical mystery series I’ve been finding. Weaver’s series is probably one of my favourites. The characters she created are so three-dimensional and I really felt like I knew them. It was because of them that I wanted to keep reading…and reading and reading. And the mysteries she came up with! I very often did not see the end coming, which I always find delightful in a mystery.

I also really enjoyed the time period Weaver set this series in. When we first meet Ellie, it’s 1940. Her cousins, who are like brothers to her, are off fighting in the war. One is on an air base and is relatively safe. The other has been missing since Dunkirk. Right away, the reader is seeing how much of an impact war had on ordinary families. Not that Ellie’s family is ordinary - I liked that they were just a little bit outside the law. I haven’t read many war books from that perspective. I liked how Weaver showed what it was like on the home front for Londoners and showed all the various ways people were fighting the war at home.

Now, in One Final Turn, Ellie isn’t actually on the home front for part of the book. She’s sent on a case to Portugal. It wasn’t until some time in 2022 that I realized Portugal was considered neutral during WWII. That didn’t mean they weren’t important during the war. Far from it. As Weaver’s novel shows, the country was a hotbed for intelligence and full of refugees trying to flee the warzone. I found it super interesting to read about in Weaver’s book and I appreciated how she was able to share more history with the reader without hitting us over the head with facts.

I know I may not have talked much about One Final Turn specifically in this review, but I do hope I’ve convinced you to check out Ashley Weaver’s Electra McDonnell series. Start with A Peculiar Combination and prepare to fall in love with a whip smart safecracker and an emotionally guarded Major. I can’t wait to hear what you think about this series - or read more of Weaver’s novels in the future.

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, Minotaur Books, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Closing with a flourish a saga of books that has been a great adventure.

I agree with those who described it as a soft historical, a first approach for those who want to get into this genre.

Ellie, who comes from a family of thieves, is hired to help solve certain problems given her skills and is working with Major Ramsey, with whom she develops a relationship over the course of the five books.

In this last installment, answers to the unknowns left over from the other volumes are answered and the romance is brought to a close.

I am so delighted to discover this story and these characters, I will miss them.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC.

Closing with a flourish a saga of books that has been a great adventure.

I agree with those who described it as a soft historical, a first approach for those who want to get into this genre.

Ellie, who comes from a family of thieves, is hired to help solve certain problems given her skills and is working with Major Ramsey, with whom she develops a relationship over the course of the five books.

In this last installment, answers to the unknowns left over from the other volumes are answered and the romance is brought to a close.

I am so delighted to discover this story and these characters, I will miss them.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC.

I have beeen a fan of the Electra McDonnell series since reading the first book, A Peculiar Combination. Ellie was hired for her skills as a thief to help the war effort. Her relationship with her superior, Major Ramsey, developed through the previous books until a heartbreaking moment in the last book, when she broke his trust and he fired her, turning his back on their relationship. When she is approached by Captain Archie Blandings to accompany him on a mission to Lisbon she jumps at the chance. Her cousin Toby was captured by the Germans, escaped the POW camp and is making his way to Portugal. The mission is to contact members of the resistance aiding escapees and keep the route secure. Unfortunately, Ramsey is also a member of the mission team. Archie is attentive to Ellie, but she suspects that it is just to annoy Ramsey until he realizes what he has lost. When someone begins attacking their contacts before they can secure their help, Archie devises a plan to unobtrusively make the next contact. It will require Ramsey and Ellie to pose as a couple. Ramsey has his doubts, but it may be the last chance to rescue Toby so she is determined to go through with it.

Ellie comes from a family of thieves, raised by her uncle Mick after her father was supposedly killed by her mother. Throughout the series Ellie has been working to discover the truth. Her mother died of influenza in prison, but she will not have her remembered as a murderer. Ashley Weaver presents One Final Turn as the last book in this series, revealing the truth of her father’s death and resolving the difficulties in Ellie and Ramsey’s relationship in a way that will please her fans. I will miss Ellie’s daring adventures. I also look forward to reading whatever Weaver presents to her fans in the future. I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur or providing his book.

I’ve loved every step of Ellie’s journey through this stage of her life, so in her final novel I was expecting great things, but I could never have anticipated what happened. This book takes Ellie to Portugal to find her cousin, if possible. I don’t want to give anything away, so I’ll just say that Lisbon’s architecture sounds marvelous and I’d love to visit one day. As an ending to an excellent series, this book will not let you down!

This is the final book in series. It might be more fun if you have read about Ellie's previous escapades. She is a lock smith working undercover during World War II. This time she is going to Lisbon to rescue people who have crossed into Portugal from France and have been captured by Germans. She is also looking for her cousin, who may be among those who need to be rescued. A somewhat unrealistic story, but a good light read. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc with no pressure for a positive review..

The Electra McDonnell series had been one of my favorite historical mystery series in the last few years, and this (final?) book didn't disappoint.

Major Gabriel Ramsey told Electra at the end of the last book that her help was no longer needed, that she had lied and he couldn't work with her anymore. But she also found out that her cousin Toby had been captured by the Germans, and she now has a chance to travel to Lisbon with Captain Archie Hastings and Ramsey to save him.

This book is full of adventure as they spy, scheme, and sightsee their way through Lisbon. Ramsey and Ellie's relationship is fraught with tension as you question will they, or won't they. And the ending is a satisfying as an ending can be!

Thank you, Ashley Weaver, for writing characters I'd love to know in real life!

I truly enjoyed this last installment in the Electra McDonnell series. The series ending is well done, though almost too perfect — there’s a war on, after all. And the London scenes, written without air raids, seemed as though the Blitz wasn’t still raging (it was). However, Weaver really shines when building romantic tension, and the relationship between Ellie and Ramsey, plus the WWII setting, is really what drew me to these books. That romantic tension is perfect here, and honestly, Ramsey is so well-written. Thankfully no love triangles, either (a pet peeve). Though I’m glad that the series didn’t go on and on without resolution (perhaps an unpopular opinion, I know), I am sad to say goodbye to Ellie and Ramsey. I can’t wait to see what Weaver does next.

This book was enjoyable, but it was not till the 78% reading mark, that the book gained momentum for me. The story is described as a a historical mystery with a touch of romance. During the early days of WW2 when London is just starting to be bombed, Electra the star of the book is asked to join a mission to help rescue a number of POW's-one especially, her cousin Toby. Her background in being able to pick locks is what resulted in her being asked to join the group. She had been involved in the war effort, but was recently discharged from that group due to the fact "she had her own mind" on how things should be done. Did it cost her everything, well that you will have to find out by reading this book. Just be prepared to slog through a good bit first to get to the meat of what is a good story.

Thanks to Net Galley and Minotaur press for providing an ebook and I do apologize for taking so long to get it done.

As sad as I am to see this series end, this was a satisfying conclusion to a great story! Book 4 left Electra and Ramsey in a bad spot, and book 5 has all the tension and longing you could want, plus Lisbon, espionage, lock-picking, and the long-awaited answers about Electra’s family history. Thank you to the publisher for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

I love this series - the historical setting and the characters. It is definitely one I recommend to friends and book clubs. I hope there will be more!

What an absolute delight of a read! As a huge fan of this book series, I can’t think of a better ending! The action scenes were gripping & the side characters were engaging. The chemistry between Major Ramsey & Ellie was EVERYTHING! & I am so glad that Ellie got closure. I have recommended this book to all of my family & friends, it is wonderful!

I love this series and am sad that this is the last one because it’s such an interesting subject within the WWII mysteries subset. This one does tie up so many loose ends but it started out so slowly that I almost gave up on it. I’m all for a romance within the series but the first half was too much for me. It did pick up halfway through, thankfully, and despite some TSTL moments, I enjoyed it and thought it was wrapped up nicely.

Final book in the Electra McDonnell series, and it pulls all the loose threads nicely together. Electra is no longer working for Major Ramsey, but is pulled back into the spy business when word gets through that her cousin (more a brother to her) is alive and has escaped from imprisonment, and is trying to get over the border to Portugal. Willing to do anything to find Toby, she is recruited by a Lisbon-based Captain to assist in finding the escape route and protect it from the Germans. Making things rather awkward - Major Ramsey is the only one able to assist them. And the usual twisty plot ensues with lots of action and daring do, lock-picking and clandestine meetings, and lighting fast thinking on their feet. Great fun and most satisfying.

First, let me say that I am so sad that this is the conclusion of this wonderful series. I have enjoyed reading these characters and the situations they find themselves in. This book ends the series on serious high note and I love that!

“The fifth and final installment in the Electra McDonnell series brings safecracker Ellie on a mission across World War II-era Europe to Lisbon, Portugal to rescue a key group of escaped POWs.”

I have absolutely adored this historical mystery series and while I am sad this is the last one, it was so perfectly well done that it made it a bit easier to say goodbye. I binge listened to this in a day and a half, using every possible excuse to have it in my ears. They are brilliant on audio (I’ve taken all five in that way).

I gasped and sighed and smiled throughout and the ending was chef’s kiss. If you’re a mystery lover and want a strong, funny, independent former lock-pick sleuth in your reading life, go now and read. You won’t regret it. Five wonderful stars.

I can't believe this is the last book in the series. Most of the cozy mystery series I read go on and on and on, so I was shocked when One Final Turn was announced as the fifth and final novel in the series.

It was a really good finale. All the loose ends were wrapped up, though one storyline that had just started felt like it was wrapped up too quickly, but I don't think there was any other way to handle it, as this is the final book.

At one point, I felt like it was going to turn into a Regency romance novel, but I'm sure fans who like romance in their cozy mysteries will love the scene.

There is plenty of Ellie and Ramsey together, and I enjoyed them being in Lisbon. I think series fans will be happy with how the series ends.

I've read the entire series and really liked this WWII cozy mystery series that sometimes reads more like a spy novel. The writing is good, the characters have some depth to them, and the plots are always fun. If you are looking for a complete series to binge read, you should definitely pick it up.

I wonder what Ashley Weaver will write next.

My review will be published at Girl Who Reads on Sunday - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2025/06/one-final-turn-by-ashley-weaver-review.html