Janice Graham's 'Red Lily' is a pleasant and engaging read that effortlessly draws you in. With likable characters, a mysterious story, and nice cultural touches, this book is a delight. The writing is witty and the pace is easy, making it a great choice for anyone looking for a captivating story.
Thank you to NetGalley and Book Whisperer publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book as an Advance review copy.

“Red Lily” is a charmingly captivating novel by novelist and screenwriter Janice Graham. This is the first of her books that I’ve read, but some of her previous titles sound intriguing. Thank you to Ms. Graham, NetGalley, and Vendome Books for providing me an advanced reader’s copy of “Red Lily” to read. My opinions are voluntary.

I enjoyed it thoroughly. I was caught up in the madcap intrigue of it and its various over-the-top characters. It’s a spy thriller, a family drama, a love story, and a historical tale, all rolled into one rollicking adventure, complete with disguises, misdirection, attempted murder, and improbable circumstances. I laughed out loud at some of the happenings and escapades, and I was thrilled by the happy ending. I would be delighted to read another, similarly upbeat tale by Ms. Graham.

Not my usual read. A bit of a crazy satire.

Lily has been involved with smuggling KGB secrets in Paris. She fakes her death. Her nephew is contacted to inherit property and summoned from his career in the painting business in Florida. Chaos ensues.

Takes place around in the late 1980's.

I decided to just enjoy this one and let the book take me on this adventure.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher Book Whisperer and author Janice Graham for approving my request to read the advance reader copy of Red Lily in exchange for an honest review. Publication date is May 26, 2025. Approx 388 pages.

My first book from Janice is an ambitious, intriguing blend of Cold War espionage, family secrets, and European atmosphere, with a big dose of nostalgic charm. The story is set across locations like Paris and iconic Cold War landmarks and it aims high and mostly delivers, while delivering a few bumps along the way.

The story is told through Carl, a middle-aged man investigating the life of a woman who may have been his deceased aunt. At first, the frequent shifts pushed me, but the story's grounded, mature perspective ultimately works in the novel’s favor, especially as the plot jumps between decades and unpacks themes of identity, loyalty, and sacrifice.

One of the novel’s strengths lies in how it ties personal family history to real-world espionage. Inspired in part by the true defection of a KGB archivist, the story captures the paranoia and tension of the Cold War. The journey is more than a spy hunt, it’s a dive into legacy, truth, and self-understanding. The emotional layers hit hardest when the global and the personal collide.

On the flip side, the book doesn’t always find its rhythm. The pacing feels uneven with parts of the plot dragging while others leap forward. The time-jumping adds depth but also causes issues. The romantic threads and red herrings do not work. Still, there’s a satisfying payoff in seeing how Janice gradually peels back the layers of mystery. The story’s music references and pop culture nods from the 1980s are a fun touch but may not connect with readers of newer generations.

Overall, the book is an intriguing, stylish read that doesn’t quite stick its landing with me but still offers a lot to admire. If you're drawn to spy novels with heart and don’t mind a meandering structure, this one might be worth your time.
I will try at least one more book by Janice.

Set in Paris shortly before the Cold War ends and the Berlin Wall falls, Alice Graham's Red Lily is a brilliantly written, wacky spy thriller.

It's 1989 summertime. Carl Box is a paint and varnish consultant from Disney Florida who finds out about the death of his Parisian aunt, who is the family's black sheep but whom he has never seen. Aunt Lily is still alive after someone tried to poison her with iced tea, and he finds out this when he flies to Paris. The two then go out to find a smuggled stockpile of KGB dossiers while Aunt Lily poses as her nephew's mother. Box narrates the events as he and Lily avoid suspicious cops, dangerous spies, and cunning assassins in a crazy trip filled with spy craft.

A cast of quirky, engaging characters, such as a debonair French police investigator, a seductive environmental activist, and a false priest, keep readers interested in this unhurried book.

The protagonist's opening statement of Paris is just one example of the book's exquisite prose and numerous literary and historical allusions. “Paris languished in the August heat, the streets deserted except for the usual tourists and a few remaining Parisians plodding slowly along their routine paths.”

—This sets the atmospheric tone of late-summer Paris in 1989.

Carl’s affection for Billy a two legged dog is evident throughout the story, including a humorous moment when he observes: “Billy had taken to his Prussian blue dog bed like an overwrought lady in a Victorian melodrama.”

For admirers of the genre, Red Lily is an enticing offering because of its accurate portrayal of the time period and its witty, convincing dialogue.

THANKS TO NETGALLEY AND PUBLISHER VENDOME BOOKS FOR AN ADVANCE COPY FOR MY HONEST REVIEW

Real Rating: 3.5* of five

Thank goodness for the great middle-class Prufrock! He is that scion of privilege who's niggled by the sense of Something More being somewhere out there, though he can't really say where or why. He's a fixture in Graham Greene's Cold War novels: Our Man in Havana's Wormold and Travels with my Aunt's Pulling. Enough privilege and wealth to leave his quotidian life behind. It's never examined from the standpoint of his privilege, his white-male unquestioned freedom to just...chuck it all, no blame or manhunts pursuing him.

Aunt Lily is meant to be a Mame-like figure, a woman who wasn't shunned by her family for trivial reasons but for her utter unwillingness to conform. A sister to a man who left his son a paint factory and the surname Box, she's really more of an Ethel Rosenberg figure to me. She knows what she's doing, and that there are consequences, but she believes she's Right so she does it anyway. Best to keep family far away. Except when they come in handy, as her Prufrock-meets-Babbitt nephew does now.

There's enough action, enough entertaining woman-spy-trades-on-femaleness to make its more cozy aspects of forming found family and taking care of the people in your life (who aren't there from some societal pressure) to the bitter end to make it feel like a weirdly cozy thriller. Running around there is, but more importantly bonds are formed, forged, and honored.

Box himself is slow on the uptake. It frustrated me that Aunt Lily could run rings around him yet HE was the narrator. It was also more than a little effort to keep track of who's who, which is fine in a thriller but not usually part of the reading experience in a cozy, so a bit of the luster got dimmed for me there too.

All in all, though, I'm not mad at the read, nor especially mad for it either. Fun was had, smiles were smiled, and five hours were not wasted in reading it. Need something to wile some time away that still repays giving it your attention?

Seven bucks and it's yours.

Carl Box is a great character and his voice adds amazing depth to this fun story set in a vividly drawn Paris. I enjoyed getting to know all the characters, especially the dog, as the unravelling of the mystery took place. Not your average mystery, this is a fun read which balances light and dark to make for a plot which has depth and colour beyond what you might expect.

This charming tale of espionage takes place in Paris in 1989, before the fall of the Soviet Union. The CIA, MI6, and other Western intelligence agencies are still doing battle with the KGB.

Back in Florida, however, protagonist Carl Box—a paint-color consultant for Disney’s Epcot Center—likes his life just fine, thank you very much. He’s well-fixed financially and has no wife or dependents except Billy, his small dog, who lost both back legs to a gator. When Carl learns a long-lost aunt has bequeathed to him her apartment in Paris, he has very little interest. Who will take care of Billy? And who needs to go to Paris when Epcot offers all of Europe, not to mention the rest of the world? But there’s a first-class ticket on Air France (who would welcome Billy with open arms) and the temperatures in Paris promise to be cooler.

When Carl arrives in Paris, nothing is as he expected. His aunt Lily--whom his parents shunned for reasons he never knew--has faked her own death. There is no inheritance—yet. And instead readying an apartment for sale, he finds himself embroiled in a scheme to obtain information on Soviet plans and capabilities, in exchange for which--Lily hopes--CIA/MI6 will rescue her lover from a Soviet gulag.

Willing or not, Carl is in for the adventure of a lifetime, dodging spies, police, and other characters of low repute. Along the way, he'll learn more about himself and his family than he ever thought possible.

It's a good story, well told with both literary and comedic flair. The characters are fun to spend time with. Their relationships are absorbing. The Paris setting … well … who doesn’t love Paris? The mystery is intriguing, and there are plot twists to keep readers guessing.

All in all, a very entertaining novel which I thought reminiscent of some of the novels of Graham Greene, especially “Our Man in Havana” (although not as satiric) and “Travels with My Aunt.”

My thanks to NetGalley, author Janice Graham, and publisher Book Whisperer for providing me with a complimentary electronic ARC. All of the foregoing is my honest, independent opinion.

Janice Graham takes us back to 1989 in this light espionage tale. The main character, Carl Box, starts off admitting he leads a dull, ordinary life, but as the story progresses his character develops into someone with a talent for quick thinking and the ability to figure out who is trying to stop the publishing of resistance literature from the USSR. The author does a good job of returning to that time period and adds interesting characters (Carl's aunt, whose death starts off the story, a potential love interest for Carl, and assorted spies, police officers, and dissidents). At times a bit difficult to hold all of the threads of the story together, but the author ties them together by the end. Thank you to Vendome Books and NetGalley for the eARC.

I was initially drawn to this book by its Cold War setting—an era I haven’t explored much in fiction. The opening had me hooked, and I was eager to see how the story would unfold. However, as I progressed, I found the writing style a bit difficult to engage with, despite the intriguing premise.
While Carl, the central character, didn’t resonate with me, I appreciated many of the other characters. Unfortunately, many of them didn’t get enough page time to hold my interest, and I found myself wishing for a stronger focus on their arcs.

Ultimately, I struggled to stay invested. The mystery surrounding the plot and characters felt overly ambiguous, making it hard to determine who to root for or how different elements would fit into the larger story. While I can see how this approach might appeal to readers who enjoy unraveling a spy network, it left me feeling too disconnected to continue.

Special thanks to Book Whisperer and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

3.5*

This is a historical espionage novel, but without high angst, which makes for a relaxing read.

I enjoyed the depiction and commentary on historical occurrences and they felt true and engaging.

It also has a cute little pet sidekick, whose antics were fun.

I recommend this book if you enjoy:
+ Found Family
+ Mystery
+ Historical fiction

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

Definitely fun and slightly quirky tale, gotta love that dog! A bit different and unexpected, definitely great for a weekend mental getaway.

Red Lily by Janice Graham is a blend of historical fiction and family intrigue. It takes place across settings like Epcot’s World Showcase, Paris, and various locales throughout Europe.

While the cover led me to expect a female protagonist, the story is narrated by Carl Box, a male lead whose investigation into the life of a woman believed to be his deceased aunt uncovers layers of hidden identity, personal sacrifice, and Cold War-era espionage. Even though it took me a moment to adjust to Carl’s point of view, it did allow the story to shift across time and cover key events fluidly.

Inspired by real-world events—particularly the defection of KGB archivist Vasily Mitrokhin, who painstakingly compiled and smuggled classified documents to the West—the novel captures the era's atmosphere of secrecy and risk. Landmarks like Checkpoint Charlie and the Wall between East and West Germany lend historical weight, while the family connection to these events brings emotional depth and immediacy. As someone who grew up in the 1980s, I appreciated the nostalgic nods to pop rock and also discovered the music of Paolo Conte through the book.

Graham’s narrative style is distinctive: she builds momentum in the present, then jumps forward and back in time to reveal how past events shaped the characters’ relationships. The plot includes romantic threads and red herrings that kept me guessing. Though some outcomes could be determined early on Janice makes it more meaningful by delaying the full reveal. The age of the protagonist also lent to credibility of his mature response to major life events, instead of that of a victim.

This story would translate well to screen—think Jack Ryan with a literary twist—and it leaves the door open for prequels or sequels to deepen the connection to the characters.

It would make for some good book club discussions. For example, how did Carl get his name, why did his Aunt call him "Carlito?" Is his name from Carl Marx and why did his family keep his name if that was the case? Also, what was the significance of some of the books referenced in the story, as they relate to the characters?

Like any good historical fiction, Red Lily entertains while illuminating the past. It should resonate with fans of Kristin Hannah or Jayne Anne Phillips, and I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys character-driven stories.

Red Lily by Janice Graham takes place in Paris in 1989 at the end of the Cold War. Carl Box leads a basically boring life. He has inherited his father’s paint company upon the death of his parents. He is now a consultant for them and is not overly busy. He is sent a plane ticket to Paris to settle the estate of his Aunt who has died and left all to him. His parents had absolutely no contact with her and he has never met her before. He decides to take a chance and go. Of course he has no idea that his Aunt is not really dead and has a problem with which she needs his help. However, as he finds out, this problem involves spies, KGB, as well as British Intelligence.

Upon arriving, he finds out his Aunt is not dead and that she needs him to help get the rest of the Cold War documents out of Russia, and to help her get the love of her life out of his imprisonment there. He meets a lot of her crazy friends, a priest that is not really a priest, and a girl he falls for who is involved with Greenpeace protests. He winds up running all over Paris and beyond, is followed and questioned by the authorities a number of times.

For the most part, I had a hard time keeping track of what was going on as well as the people that were involved. There were, however, many scenes in the story that had me laughing at the crazy things that were done. The writing was good and there was a lot of description, but for quite some time I was unsure of the point of the story. I did find the end to be a complete surprise.

I would like to thank Net Galley for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC.

“Red Lily” is a mystery book by Janice Graham. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from the publisher’s summary, but I decided to take a chance. This book has it’s wonderful moments - what is family, why are people pushed to the outside. It was an adventure through Paris, but after a while for me it felt like the book was a bit “too smart” for my reading preference (a lot is going on and, like the main character Carl, I didn’t always connect the dots). I think this was an interesting idea - and cleverly executed.

I received a free DRC of this book through Netgalley. This book is told from a male POV which I didn't expect from the cover. I thought it would be a cozy also based on the cover, but it seemed a bit more intellectual than the usual cozy with Russian spies and other secret agencies involved in making it a confusing ride through Paris. It wasn't really for me and I found myself checking a lot in some parts to see how much book was left to read. I think some people would really enjoy it, but it wasn't my taste.

This is a well organized, brilliantly paced and fun story.
Mystery in every chapter and such a glorious back drop
in Paris~a mini holiday without leaving home.
The surprises in the family are really, really, well done ~
a sprinkle here, a sprinkle there, and we’re in new
places for new intrigue and fun. This is a book
for everyone genre to enjoy, which is a rare treat.
My thanks to Vendome Books for,the download
copy,of,this,book,for review purposes.