Customer Reviews

Deadly Grace

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
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good read. The plot device of switching back and forth between two narrators is sometimes jarring. But the writing is smooth, the characters mostly well sketched, and the plot carefully crafted. The WWII - Resistance plot is,of course, pretty old by now, but I still enjoy it.

....

Wheels within wheels. Political intrigue in highly entertaining, convoluted fashion. This
is Taylor Smith's sixth international thriller after a career in international diplomacy. The
novel is heavy with verisimilitude and authenticity. Indeed, it is overabundant with
details, telling incidents, puzzling events, murky trails and many interesting characters.

Shortly after the end of World War Two, a beautiful, even glamorous, English war bride
named Grace Meade brings her tiny daughter to America, to the small town Minnesota
home of her husband, killed in the war in Europe. Years later, that daughter, now a
degreed historical researcher for the Smithsonian, begins to develop an exhibit on the
war. What Jillian Meade realizes is that she knows only scraps of her mother's
background and very small scraps at that. Since she must go to England to examine some
newly released intelligence papers for the exhibit, she decides to include a little personal
research. Her inquiries soon turn up the fact that Grace Meade, her mother, worked for
British Intelligence and she finds some people who knew Grace Meade during and before
the war. The problem is, the arithmetic of dates seem to be askew. Why? At this point,
Jillian's troubles begin.

Meanwhile, back in the U.S. FBI agent Alex Cruz is assigned to look into Jillian Meade's
background. The request, strangely enough, comes from Scotland Yard. When an
obviously upset Jillian returns from Europe, she goes home, home to Havenwood,
Minnesota, to see her mother, to confront her with her questions. Alex Cruz, is pursuing
Jillian Meade to ask her some questions and soon finds himself emplaning for Minnesota.
Why? Because Grace Meade is suddenly, suspiciously, dead and Jillian appears to be
involved.

The novel is filled with historical references to behind the lines resistance activity in
France. Here are instances of thievery, betrayal, mass murder and very personal,
up-close, murder. Smith is a good writer who could use some judicious editing. There
are some great conversations and some fine clichés, as well as an abundance of telling
phrases. Frequently, when Smith writes, the air moves. Nevertheless, Smith's skill as a
writer more often than not infuses scenes with immediacy and power. An excellent if
long, novel.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I disagree that the portrayal of Grace wasn't believable or "real." We learn about her from second- and third-hand accounts after she's dead, and what emerges is a picture of unsuspected evil and unconscionable actions. The device of alternating chapters between two different points of view isn't new. I thought Smith did a great job with the parallel journeys of discovery, although I must confess I found Jillian's journal so compelling I was sorely tempted to skip over Cruz! The book was well written and the main characters well developed enough that I cared what happened to them.

There was a lot of superfluous information that made the book longer than it had to be. It was a little slow at the beginning- hinting at the mysteries surrounding the woman who has been at the scene of several deaths. After about a third of the book the plot starts to pick up and there are A LOT of twists and turns that makes it all worth it. I didn't even guess at the depth of the characters and the evil that some people will commit. I definitely recommend this book for anyone seeking a mystery worthy of some time and thought.

In January of 1979, in Havenwood, Minnesota, a fire consumes a lakeside home and the body that was discovered inside. Grace Meade, former British special agent and war widow of Yank, Joe Meade, is now dead. Her daughter Jillian, a Smithsonian historian, is in a psychiatric ward of a local hospital after a suicide attempt.

Enter FBI agent Alex Cruz, who wants to interview Jillian Meade, as she is a last-known contact of two British women who were murdered prior to their homes being set afire. Was Jillian responsible for setting the fires in England and at her mother's home despite the fact that the police carried an unconscious Jillian out of Grace's home as the fire raged? While Alex's questions go unanswered, Jillian is not talking to anyone but is furiously writing in a journal provided by her psychiatrist.

First begun as a narrative, this read details Alex' progress in his investigation as he comes face to face with the interesting folks of Havenwood, especially Nils Berglund, acting Chief of Police and Jillian's former boyfriend who seems to carry a torch for her still. As the read moves on, every other chapter consists of Jillian's journal, a first person account of her European investigation of her mother's past. The journal entries are cleverly integrated with the main plot line keeping the reader enthralled and continually questing for the answers to Grace Meade's death.

And when Agent Cruz is able to access Jillian's journal, he begins to fit together the pieces of the puzzle in this engaging read. Tales of Nazis, British and American spies, and lost German gold add fuel to the fire of this raging inferno. Those who love a well-crafted who-done-it with a thoroughly surprising ending will want to rush out and purchase this read, which is certain to generate new fans for Ms. Smith.

In January of 1979, in Havenwood, Minnesota, a fire consumes a lakeside home and the body that was discovered inside. Grace Meade, former British special agent and war widow of Yank, Joe Meade, is now dead. Her daughter Jillian, a Smithsonian historian, is in a psychiatric ward of a local hospital after a suicide attempt.

Enter FBI agent Alex Cruz, who wants to interview Jillian Meade, as she is a last-known contact of two British women who were murdered prior to their homes being set afire. Was Jillian responsible for setting the fires in England and at her mother's home despite the fact that the police carried an unconscious Jillian out of Grace's home as the fire raged? While Alex's questions go unanswered, Jillian is not talking to anyone but is furiously writing in a journal provided by her psychiatrist.

First begun as a narrative, this read details Alex' progress in his investigation as he comes face to face with the interesting folks of Havenwood, especially Nils Berglund, acting Chief of Police and Jillian's former boyfriend who seems to carry a torch for her still. As the read moves on, every other chapter consists of Jillian's journal, a first person account of her European investigation of her mother's past. The journal entries are cleverly integrated with the main plot line keeping the reader enthralled and continually questing for the answers to Grace Meade's death.

And when Agent Cruz is able to access Jillian's journal, he begins to fit together the pieces of the puzzle in this engaging read. Tales of Nazis, British and American spies, and lost German gold add fuel to the fire of this raging inferno. Those who love a well-crafted who-done-it with a thoroughly surprising ending will want to rush out and purchase this read, which is certain to generate new fans for Ms. Smith.

War creates many kinds of victims, the fallen soldier, the loved ones of the fallen and the soldiers who survive. Smith does a believable job of interweaving past war crimes with current ones, illustrating that in any war everyone's life is affected in some way.
Born during WWII our heroine starts on a journey of discovering who her mother and father really are since as a researcher the facts aren't matching. Her world is shaken when there is a possibility that she maybe the daughter of a Nazi war criminal. Forgiving a mother, who has emotionally abused her, comes to a head when her mother is murdered in a remote town in Minnesota. A FBI agent assigned to the case uncovers clues that are shocking as well as disturbing to our heroine and yet relieving when the truth is finally aired. Lots of historic facts make this an interesting read.

Great book -- full of suspense and intrigue. Best for intelligent readers who can handle an intricate plot and strong characters.

This wasn't as good as The Best Of Enemies, but it was still high on the good reading shelf.
However the book starts out with everything in modern day (1979)
January when Grace Meade is found murdered in her home that is rapidly burning.
the primary suspect is her own daughter Jillian, because two women in Europe were murdered in the same fashion, not long after meeting with Jillian.(?!)
Ok so the heroine is the main suspect in a triple murder case
she tries to kill herself
she is put in the Psichiatric ward of a hospitial and given a journal to write in
this is when it starts to get confusing
every other chapter is told in her (Jillian's) perspective
so it's like this
chapter five ~ January 1979
Chapter six ~ Jillian's journal (This is where we learn all the deep, dark, and sometimes deadly secrets of Grace Meade's life as a forger during WWII).
Chapter Seven~ Januray 1979
Chapter eight ~ Jillian's Journal
The entire book goes on like that from chapter five to the postscript after chapter 34.
All in all a good read but a little confusing with all of the side stories going on
sometimes difficult to keep all the facts straight

In 1979 Havenwood, Minnesota, a fire kills long time British expatriate Grace Meade. The police believe her daughter Jillian killed her mother. FBI Special Agent Alex Cruz arrives from DC to question Grace about the deaths of her mother and two other British women, who were companions of Grace in the World War II French Resistance. They both died following a visit from Jillian. Alex's interrogation results in his inability to obtain any useful information from a tacit Jillian locked away for her own protection after an attempted suicide.

Alex soon learns that Jillian was researching her mother's role in World War II and that is why she met with the now deceased women. He finds her journal of notes and uses that as a springboard to try to learn whether Jillian is a serial killer or just an easy mark of someone who wants the three plus decades of events in France to remain silent.

DEADLY GRACE is an engaging historical police procedural that fans who relish good detective work will find inviting because the FBI agent and the prime suspect are strong interesting protagonists. However, the tale hinges on the characterization of Grace, but she fails to come across as real, hurting the overall plot. In spite of that, the story line is crisp and the climax quite surprising and powerful so that sub-genre readers will enjoy Taylor Smith's latest work.

Harriet Klausner