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Summary
Summary
For college professors Hollis and Finn Larsson, a simple undercover errand becomes a deadly jaunt across Ireland in this edge-of-your-seat suspense novel from bestselling author Clare O'Donohue
It's an easy, twenty-minute job. At least, that's the pitch from Interpol to professors Hollis and Finn Larsson. Going undercover to procure a priceless rare book manuscript means an all-expenses paid trip abroad. A little danger thrown into the mix may even spice up their marriage.
Soon after landing in the Emerald Isle, they realize the job is anything but easy. Their contact is a no-show and they're left with fifty thousand euros, a death threat, and some serious questions. Ducking and dodging their way across Ireland, Hollis and Finn must hunt down the priceless manuscript and a missing agent while trying to stay one step ahead of a dangerous and unknown enemy.
Praise:
"O'Donohue knows her Irish literature and countryside, and weaves them beautifully into an action-filled story."--Sara Paretsky, author of the V.I. Warshawski series
"Plenty of thrills and hints at an exciting future for the reluctantly daring duo."--Kirkus Reviews
"O'Donohue (the Someday Quilts series) supplies plenty of fun spy business, but the believability and chemistry of Hollis and Finn as a couple, as shown in their witty dialogue, is the main appeal."--Publishers Weekly
"The relationship between Hollis and Finn is the hook in this smart debut. It's rare to find a contemporary mystery that makes the everyday challenge of honest communication between partners so compelling, but that's exactly the core of this entertaining mystery about a husband-wife team of crime solvers."--Booklist
"Armchair travelers will delight in the colorful descriptions of Ireland, while mystery buffs who enjoy charming sleuths will appreciate the quick-witted couple"--Library Journal
"Clare O'Donohue may have invented a new category of crime fiction--the amateur spynovel--and I'm a big fan. At turns funny, real, and nail-biting, Beyond the Paleis a terrific read."-- Lori Rader-Day, Anthony and Mary Higgins Clark Award-Winning author of The Black Hour, Little Pretty Things, and The Day I Died
"This is book one in the new World of Spies mystery series, and the author has created the perfect roller-coaster ride."--Suspense Magazine
"A fast-paced thriller."--King's River Life
Author Notes
Clare O'Donohueis the author of the Kate Conway Mysteries and the Someday Quilts Mysteries. She was a producer for the HGTV show Simply Quilts, and has worked on shows for the History Channel, truTV, Food Network, A&E, Discovery, and TLC.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
O'Donohue's enjoyable, if slight, first World of Spies mystery introduces married Michigan college professors Hollis and Finn Larsson. Hollis enjoys teaching, but the sight of her barely used passport makes her long to get away. Finn is satisfied with the status quo. When CIA agent David Agnelli, an old flame of Hollis's, offers them an all-expenses-paid trip to Ireland to acquire a rare book manuscript, which supposedly holds the key to finding a missing agent, Hollis, who dreamed during her college days of becoming a spy, is thrilled. Finn is less enthusiastic, but he agrees to David's deal. Soon after arriving in Dublin, Hollis and Finn realize that they're on their own with no one they can trust. After witnessing a murder, they decide that they must get their hands on the manuscript to ensure their survival, but doing so won't be easy. O'Donohue (the Someday Quilts series) supplies plenty of fun spy business, but the believability and chemistry of Hollis and Finn as a couple, as shown in their witty dialogue, is the main appeal. Agent: Sharon Bowers, Miller Bowers Griffin Literary Management. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
A bored professor is looking for excitement in her life.Hollis and Finn Larsson both teach at a university in Michigan. College sweethearts who split up, got back together, and then married, Finn is happy with his life; Hollis, not so much. Hollis never told Finn she was a top student at the CIA academy while they were apart, and now her past has come back to haunt her in the form of David Agnelli, a CIA classmate who now works for Interpol. David shows up asking for a favor--he wants Hollis and David to go to Dublin to buy a manuscript that's supposedly written by Brendan Behan but is actually a fake containing clues that could save another agent's life. Hollis jumps at the chance for a free trip to Ireland and convinces homebody Finn, a Behan scholar, that they'll have a romantic weekend. Once they arrive in Dublin, all their plans fall apart. When they go to the antiques shop of Eamon Byrnes, who's supposed to give them the manuscript, he's not there, and his assistant claims not to know his whereabouts. Hollis is sure they're being followed by a tall, gun-toting black man. While visiting the theater, they chat with Liam Tierney, a friend of the missing Eamon. Soon after Tierney mentions that there's another Byrnes Antiques shop in Galway, he's murdered. Unable to reach David and unsure whom to trust, the pair head out of Dublin still hoping to find the manuscript and clear their names with various agencies that think they're working for the enemy, whomever that is. Leaving a trail of disaster behind them, they treasure the chance to admire the beauties of the Irish countryside before they have to face deadly reality.O'Donohue (The Double Wedding Ring, 2013, etc.) kicks off a new series with an overly complicated adventure that still boasts plenty of thrills and hints at an exciting future for the reluctantly daring duo.
Booklist Review
Midwestern college professor Hollis Larsson is rather perturbed by the complacency of husband and fellow professor, Finn, whose idea of a getaway is a weekend in Chicago. So, when a former flame asks Hollis to dust off her never-used CIA training and head to Ireland with Finn to authenticate an old manuscript, her pride and boredom compel her to say yes. Instead of finding the manuscript as directed, they find a suitcase with 50,000 euros outside their hotel door. And, voilà, marital malaise evaporates as she and Finn race through Ireland looking for the manuscript and a missing agent, while trying not to get killed. The relationship between Hollis and Finn is the hook in this smart debut. It's rare to find a contemporary mystery that makes the everyday challenge of honest communication between partners so compelling, but that's exactly the core of this entertaining mystery about a husband-wife team of crime solvers.--Keefe, Karen Copyright 2018 Booklist
Library Journal Review
When 40-year-old tenured college professor Hollis Larsson agrees to meet with an old friend, she has no idea that she and her husband, Finn, will end up being chased by spies and killers across Ireland. Bored with her marriage and life, she pushes Finn to accept Interpol's request that they pick up a rare manuscript. But their contact in Dublin doesn't show, and the couple is followed and questioned at gunpoint by several suspicious people. Then a man is murdered in front of them at the theater. As they flee Dublin to Galway to Doolin and the Aran Islands, Hollis and Finn know only that they must rely on each other. VERDICT O'Donohue's (Missing Persons) new series introduces a spirited and engaging duo (think Dashiell Hammett's Nick and Nora Charles) who complement each other as a spy team; the humor and adventures will remind readers of True Lies. After a slow start, the pace intensifies quickly. Armchair travelers will delight in the colorful descriptions of Ireland, while mystery buffs who enjoy charming sleuths will appreciate the quick-witted couple.-Lesa Holstine, Evansville Vanderburgh P.L., IN © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
