Customer Reviews

Deadly Affairs (Francesca Cahill Novels)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Brenda Joyce delivers an exciting, plot twisting addition to her Francesca Cahill Series. A rich young woman living in turn-of-the-century New York Francesca could be content with high society---balls, dresses and men. Instead she squeezes in the occasional society happening with her new career as an amateur sleuth, family problems, and college classes.

In Deadly Affairs Francesca's sleuthing hits home in more ways than one as her hoodlum/sleuthing assistant's mother becomes a target. Working again with the City's Police Commissioner Rick Bragg, Francesca's stalks the killers.

In this third installment, Francesca's personal life is more developed. The reader finds that Calder Hart, Bragg's entreupreneur and estranged half-brother, desires at least friendship with Francesca. Unfortunately, Francesca's mother sees the answer to the "Francesca solving crimes" problem as a marriage to Calder Hart!

Francesca continues to delight readers as a moral, committed, and occasionally meddling twenty-year old finding that life and sleuthing have several more experiences in store for her.

Writers take several experiments to get it right - and Joyce in her third installment of the Deadly series, Deadly Affairs, triumphs gracefully as she juggles a sleuthing mystery and stunning revelations on passion and family ties beautifully. Her protagonist, social reformer Francesca Cahill renders her sleuthing services this time to Lydia Stuart, checking on her husband who she suspects he is having an affair. Her outing gets haywired when she discovers a female corpse branded with a cross. A serial killer is on the loose - and Fran must team up with Bragg to find out the connection before a third woman is victimized.

Blending a more credible and intricate mystery this time, Brenda Joyce provides delicious twists and complexity within the plethora of characters. Every page in the book holds surprises and is emotionally-gripping with family melodramas, feuds between brothers (Bragg and Hart), blossoming passion between Evan and Maggie (gasp!) and the struggle in Fran's and her sister's love-life. The story moves dramatically fast and is woven tightly through Joyce's atmospheric prose. This book is summarily, Joyce's most adroit coup de grace yet.

I really enjoyed this book the best.... so far. I think it's because we are learning more about the characters. I find it interesting that Miss Cahill is so quick to make up an excuse for Bragg being married, but she ripped into her brother in-law for his affair. I keep wondering if that will ever be fully addressed in book 4. I do hope she goes with Calder Hart and not Bragg. Calder is much more intersting than Bragg, and I think he really cares about her. Can't wait for Book 4 to see how it all ends!

The events that are chronicled in "Deadly Affairs" takes place a couple of days after "Deadly Pleasure," and that is a shame -- that Brenda Joyce structured the novels in such a way so that the mysteries occur one on the heels of the other, because this does not allow for the Francesca Cahill's character (the heroine of this series) to mature or grow. Indeed, Miss Cahill remains the same clueless and impulsive young woman that we have all become quite familiar with ("Deadly Pleasure" & "Deadly Love"). This time however, the mystery in "Deadly Affairs" is more interesting; unfortunately however, Ms Joyce does not go very much into the 'whodunit' aspect of the novel. Instead, we're again treated to Francesca's obsession (there is no other word for it) for Rick Bragg (the new Police Commissioner of New York City), and her elder sister's (Lady Connie Montrose) decision to make her husband suffer for having had an affair.

Francesca's career as a detective is finally taking off -- she has been hired by Mrs. Lincoln Stuart to confirm her fears that he is having an affair. And in spite of the fact that Francesca has promised her parents (and Bragg) to give up investigating, Francesca takes on this case, believing that there can be little danger in so mundane a case. Unfortunately, she stumbles over the dead body of a young woman who has been brutally and ritualistically murdered. The murdered woman turns out to be friend of a seamstress she has dealings with, Maggie Kennedy, who begs Francesca to investigate her friend's death. Of course Francesca cannot deny Maggie. And soon, Francesca with an unwilling Bragg in tow, discovers that this current murder has an echo in a murder that took place months ago. Coincidence, or could it be that there is a serial killer on the loose? In spite of the danger, Francesca is determined to discover who the murderer is and to put a stop to his/her madness...

Where to begin with what irked? To begin with, we're told (over and over again) that Francesca is an extremely intelligent young woman -- well perhaps she is, and perhaps what she's really short of is common sense. Because for a supposedly intelligent young lady, she definitely has a way of behaving foolishly. And of course there is the fact that we're not really treated to a real in-depth murder mystery, (the murders are merely a backdrop to the romantic and angst filled relationship between Francesca and Bragg) and the fact that Francesca Cahill is not so much a detective as someone who happens to fall over the solution of whatever puzzle is at hand.

Reading "Deadly Affairs" was a really emotionally draining feat. Francesca went the whole gamut from euphoria to depression depending on how her interaction with Bragg went, and how many reminders she had that he was married. The trouble with "Deadly Affairs" is that it doesn't really vary very much in theme or premise form "Deadly Pleasure." The same old plot-lines (the Francesca's forbidden relationship with Bragg, and her strange one with his half-brother Calder; Connie's falling apart marriage; and Sarah's doomed engagement to Francesca's brother, Evan) are rehashed with nothing being really resolved. Also, I really wish that Brenda Joyce would inject a grain of common sense into Francesca's character. Francesca Cahill has proved to be a caring, brave and intrepid heroine, and I just wish that she was a little more sensible and canny as well, and a little bit less obsessed with Rick Bragg.

Well well, this book turns out to be much better than Deadly Pleasure, the 2nd book to this 4-book series. As usual, there's lots of sleuthing around, and lots of tug of war between Francesca and Bragg. And we see the same people being developed here.

In the romance aspects, much more is formed in this book as compared to Deadly Pleasure, as readers can expect actual development and more understanding of the relationship between the hero and heroine of the book.

The mystery aspect is also more thrilling as compared to Deadly Pleasures because you really don't know what to expect. However, the weakness in this mystery is it concentrated a lot on two other suspects, Carter and O'Donnell, in the beginning but later in the novel, the two are almost completely dropped off the face of this earth that attention is no longer on them, which I thought wasn't good as this diverted the reader's attention to the real suspect.

For characters, although Connie and Neil were not very much mentioned, those sections that do tell a lot more about their relationship, how they feel, and where they are heading towards. We also see some interesting development in Hart that was quite a twist, I thought.

Overall, I think this book is a good read, but of course, Deadly Pleasures would have to be endured to fully understand and appreciate Deadly Affairs. The characters and story plot are much better revealed, as it better be since it's 3/4 to the end.

I look forward to reading the last book, Deadly Desire, to see what happens between Francesca, Bragg, Evan, Sarah, Connie, Neil and of course, Hart.

P/S btw, on page 234, the one that wanted to go skiing should be Francesca, not Sarah.

Even though this is the third book in the series, it was the first one that I read. I thought it was wonderful and addictive and as a result I have purchased every book in the series thus far and have read them several times. The mystery is good and the love triange relationship is sooo interesting. A very pleasant way to spend an afternoon.

This new Francesca Cahill book is getting more interesting in each new story. All of her characters are developing and searching for their place in this book Francesca and Rick are trying to find a balance in trying to work together without giving in to their desires, Connie,her sister is trying to make Neil jealous and Evan,her brother is finding out that too many girls just do not mix. All this, while trying to solve a nasty murder about someone who is killing three young women who have a past connection with each other, one young woman is Joel's mother that is the next target,but I will not tell you who the murderer is, you will just have to read the book. I have so many books that I had planned skipping this series, but once Brenda slipped I knew that I have have to read the next one in the series.

"Deadly Affairs" is author Brenda Joyce's third installment in the historical sleuth series featuring New York City debutante and bluestocking Francesca Cahill. Miss Cahill, the daughter of a wealthy industrialist, is an unwilling member of New York City's social elite at the turn of the 20th century, 1902 to be exact. She lives in a Fifth Avenue mansion, with her parents and older brother, attends glittering society balls and fundraisers, and allows herself, occasionally, to be courted by the town's most eligible bachelors. However, Francesca is a marginal player, at best, in the comings and goings of Manhattan's rich and famous, to her mother's dismay. She is an intellectual, and determined to do something with her mind other than plan dinner parties. Unbeknownst to her mother, she has enrolled in Barnard College with aspirations to become a journalist. Recently, however, coinciding with newly appointed police commissioner Rick Bragg's move to New York, Francesca has taken to sleuthing....and romance. Her grades are suffering as a result.

Back in book one, "Deadly Love," when a neighbor's son was kidnapped, Fran stepped in, solved the crime, and saved the day. This is when she met and worked with the extremely handsome, charismatic Bragg for the first time. From their initial introduction, sparks began to fly, and as Francesca found herself becoming more involved with sleuthing than journalism, stronger feelings than mere physical attraction developed between the sophisticated man about town and the naive young woman. Unfortunately, there are complications in the commissioner's life which prohibit him from courting Francesca.

Although family and friends have warned her to stay out of police matters, Fran has continued her work as an amateur PI. She now accepts a new case from a woman who fears her new husband is unfaithful. While spying on the philanderer, she stumbles over the dead, mutilated body of a woman. Francesca is determined to find the murderer, who, it appears, has killed before. The same unmistakable trademark is left on all the victims - the sign of a cross carved on their throats.

As I have written in previous reviews, there are many flaws in this series, the major one being the principal character, Francesca Cahill. I don't understand how the author can take a potentially credible, likeable young woman, whom, we are told frequently, is extremely intelligent, independent, etc., and turn her into a silly, immature, indiscreet, and melodramatic personage. Whenever I think Ms. Joyce is catching on with her character development, she has Fran do something simply outlandish, really zany, and it just breaks the mood. Francesca Cahill cannot be Stephanie Plum, not even a more conservative early 20th century sister of Ms. Plum's and still maintain the atmosphere the author wishes to establish. She is a Manhattan socialite in 1902, not a New Jersey bounty hunter in 2005! And, the idea that an upper class young woman would have business cards distributed saying, "Francesca Cahill, Crime-Solver Extraordinaire, No. 810 Fifth Avenue, New York City, All Cases Accepted, No Crime Too Small," is ridiculous. Also, the mysteries are filled with too many coincidences to suit my taste.

So, why do I keep on reading these books? If you have ever been sick and home from work for a few days, watched the soaps and become addicted to one in particular, you will understand. The strength of Ms. Joyce's novels lies not in the mysteries but rather in her vivid recreation of New York at the turn of the century and her compelling secondary characters. Their stories are ongoing, as are Francesca's and Rick's.

Calder Hart, Rick's half brother, wealthy art connoisseur and womanizer, has befriended Francesca and is clearly attracted to her. He is an extremely complex man, and, like his brother, he is illegitimate. Bragg and Hart have different fathers and the same mother. The relationship between these two, their individual lives and backgrounds, are fascinating. Evan Cahill, Francesca's older brother, is another engaging character. He is a smart, caring man, but flawed - with a tendency to gamble and accumulate debts. In fact he has got himself in way over his head and owes a fortune. Andrew Cahill, the family patriarch, a savvy businessman and affectionate father, (pulled himself up by the bootstraps), has agreed to pay off the debts only if Evan agrees to marry a young woman he does not love, nor even care to become better acquainted with. His fiancee has unseen depth, however, and is a brilliant artist, but only Francesca is aware of this. Then there is Constance, the beautiful big sister, married to the very handsome British Lord Neil Montrose, who Francesca has discovered "in flagrante" with another woman. The clan's maternal force, Julia Cahill, is an extremely strong character determined to marry-off her children well. New characters are introduced in each novel who remain as part of the permanent storyline well after the mystery is solved.

The series' premise is a winner - a society girl/college student sleuth in 1902 NYC. There is enough "good stuff" here to hold my interest, marginally. But I don't have to buy the next book to fulfill my curiosity. I can just go to my local bookstore and skim the narrative over a cup of coffee to discover what will happen between Francesca's sister and her husband, or find out if Evan will break things off with his fiancee. It is up to the author to make her books worth paying money for - although I have now bought three. I will check-out the fourth for improvements before I make the next purchase. My suggestion to potential buyers, take the first book out of the library before you invest your time and money.
JANA

Joyce has found her footing and the series has really taken off. Excellent read!

I really love the "Deadly" series, and I just finished this one. I can`t wait to read "Deadly Desire" to see how the love story continues! Maybe I am wrong, but in the end I think Calder Hart will marry Francesca, for I think he is the better man for her. He is really exciting and sexy, the "more than meets the eye" type. For my taste, Rick is far too good and moral (but maybe he isn`t and is also responsible for the failure of his marriage?). I am looking forward for all the next books and would love if someone would like to mail me to share one`s opinion about the books! deborah.hof@gmx.de