I didn’t actually realize this was the third in a series when I read it but I was able to jump right in. I did go check a few other reviewers once I realized this and those who have read the full series said that while it may have a few characters here and there that overlap, this can be read as a standalone and the series itself can be read out of order. Thank goodness because I definitely would love to read more!

Set in the 1930s, the story centers around Amalie Vaughn, a former trapeze artist who escaped an attack from notorious serial killer nicknamed “The Death Catcher” and who specifically targeted trapeze artists. Amalie has used her family inheritance to purchase a villa in California resort town Burning Cove, with the goal of turning it into an inn. When her first guest is murdered by the very robot he invented during an exhibition, Amalie worries about it damaging the reputation of her inn, especially since there was another famous death at the villa before she purchased it. When the attractive and dangerous Matthias Jones arrives to investigate the most recent death, things get a bit more interesting around the inn.

Sometimes books from certain era can have leads who feel a bit dated but I didn’t find that to be the case with Amalie and Matthias. Amalie is a savvy business woman (where she learned to do this after a career as a trapeze artist I can’t say; maybe a bit of razzle dazzle). I did at times find the dialogue to be a bit of a weak point. It was at times contrived and repetitive. I also didn’t find Matthias to be as well-developed as he probably needed to be. The book is more plot-driven than character-driven.

Overall and quick and easy read, though nothing groundbreaking. Historical mystery fans who like a bit of romance will enjoy!

Former trapeze artist Amalie Vaughn has moved to Burning Cove and opened a guesthouse hoping for a fresh start after a terrifying and scandalous ordeal . However, it seems her bad luck has followed her when her one and only guest is killed in a spectacular fashion. Investigating the case is Matthias Jones. However, Matthias isn’t a detective, in fact rumour has it his past leans more towards the criminal. However, their attraction is immediate and as the mystery deepens the danger pushes them closer and closer together.

This cover. I already knew I was going to read this book as I’ve enjoyed the previous books in the series, but seeing that beautiful cover really cinched it. However, we all know a beautiful covers doesn’t necessarily make a great book. Tightrope didn’t fall in to that trap. It was a fun historical mystery romp with murderous machines, old Hollywood glamour and a little romance.

This book can be read as a standalone, it just means that you won’t know the background of some of the background characters. However, to understand the mystery and the romance, you can dive straight into this book. The mystery was a lot of fun. An inventor is showcasing a mechanical man, which then proceeds to murder him on stage during the demonstration. However, the inventor is caught up in more than just making robots. He has in his possession an enigma machine. A machine that goes missing after his death. A machine the murderer will go to any lengths to get back. It was a really great mystery and I enjoyed investigating alongside Amalie and Matthias, it was a tense ride.

It wasn’t just murder that brought tension to the book, Amalie and Matthias had great chemistry and sexual tension. From the moment they met you could feel their attraction and it only grew as the book went on. This was a really great read. It combined mystery and romance very well leaving the reader satisfied on both fronts. If you want to read something light and fun with a spot of murder I recommend giving this book a try.

Most books by Amanda Quick are built on a trusted formula that guarantees an action packed story, with multiple murders, strong female heroines and alpha heroes who fall madly in love with said heroine. I love that the heroes see the heroine as equal and are not threatened by their independence, and strong willed nature.

Jayne Ann Krentz/Amanda Quick are total comfort reads for me. I always know that I will have an enjoyable time with interesting characters. Of course the situations are a bit over the top but I trust this author to take me on an interesting ride and in Tightrope, she did not disappoint.

Tightrope had the misfortune of being the book I read right after finishing Ashley Weaver's Murder at the Brightwell. Both books are set in the 1930s and feature plucky heroines embroiled in murder mysteries, but that's where the similarities end. While I found Brightwell to be engrossing, with fully fleshed characters, Tightrope was just...meh.The book opens with trapeze artist Amalie fleeing a murderer, and then fast forwards to her post - circus life, in which she is the proprietor of a b&b where her only guest is (you guessed it) murdered. Amalie meets Matthias Jones, who is investigating the murder, and they form an immediate connection. Amalie is an interesting character, but overall there's not a whole lot of character development in this book. There were too many characters and too much overly complicated plot for my taste. This is one of those books that has a bunch of different bad guys and they all get third person point of view scenes; I'm not a huge fan of that. There are a lot of elements that should work in this - the setting, the era, the mystery - but for me they just fell flat. it also felt anachronistic in a way that annoyed me. This was by no means a bad book - it was breezy and light, but I was hoping for a lot more. I haven't read any of the other books in this series; I think I'll stick to the Ashley Weaver series instead.

This book brings us back to Burning Cove, California, a vacation getaway for the rich and famous in 1930s Hollywood. Amalie Vaughn is a former trapeze artist who left her career under tragic and inauspicious circumstances. She has moved to Burning Cove to start a new life and open a bed and breakfast. When her first guest is unfortunately murdered, she gets tangled up in something nefarious. Matthias Jones is investigating in Burning Cove as well. At first he sticks close to Amalie because he is searching for information, but quickly he starts sticking close to her for more personal reasons. 

I recognize that this series is nothing ground breaking, but for me it is lots of fun. I really enjoy the world Quick has painted, and I enjoy revisiting Burning Cove in each book. This one in particular felt like a good old fashioned mystery. The murdered guest is a self proclaimed inventor of robots, and that added a fun flavor to the intrigue. Similarly, Amalie’s background as a trapeze artist is glamorous and unique, and I loved that she’s able to use some of her past skills to save herself in the end. 

Matthias and Amalie make a nice couple, although Mathias isn’t particularly interesting to me as a character. No one knows quite what he does, though the rumor is that he’s mixed up with criminals. It was all a little silly. I did like that he appreciates Amalie and her abilities, and like the other heroes in the series he respects and values the heroine's independence. There’s also a whiff of the supernatural in his backstory, though it’s never really identified as such as nothing much comes of it. I’m not sure if this is supposed to be a slight callback to Quick’s Arcane Society series or not, but I didn’t really think it added anything to the story.

This series has become a kind of comforting world for me to visit. It never knocks my socks off, but it’s romantic, unique, and interesting, and I like the characters Quick has created.

Grade: 3.5 out of 5

Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Daniele

Tightrope tells the saucy tale of former trapeze artist Amalie and Matthias, an investigator with more than just intuition going for him, and their unlikely quest to solve a murder, find a cipher that could be dangerous in the wrong hands, and deal with a serial killer and the mob. Full of madcap adventure and 1930s Hollywood glamour, it is a fun period romantic adventure.

There is a lot going on in Tightrope, and, though it gets a bit messy at times, it maintains a good story arc. The premise of the book it interesting, and Amalie is an engaging heroine. Imagine the trauma a professional, lifelong trapeze artist must experience to now be afraid of heights and unable to continue with the circus. She gives up her way of life and “family” to settle in Burning Cove, California, with her aunt to run an inn. An inn that came at the right price but now has the reputation for being cursed. Enter Matthias and his somewhat supernatural ability, and the danger ratchets up and sparks fly.

I like Amalie a lot. She is made of stern stuff and is smart and brave while maintaining the femininity of the era. Matthias is mysterious enough to garner attention, but he swiftly becomes an open book. The two make a good pair and have chemistry, but it seems like they come together too quickly, feeling a little forced at the beginning. Other characters, including Amalie’s aunt, washed up horror actor Vincent Hyde, and nightclub owner Luther Pell help round out the story without adding simple filler. I was surprised by the culprits’ identities and second guessing myself throughout the book added to my enjoyment. This is the third book in Amanda Quick’s Burning Cove series, but it can easily be read as a standalone novel.

I enjoyed Tightrope and recommend it to the author’s fans and romance readers looking for Hollywood glitz with the slightest hint of the supernatural.

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*

***ARC Provided by the Author and Publisher via NetGalley***

So, here's the thing. if a book is by Amanda Quick, I am going to like it. There may be some I like more than others, but it's just not going to happen that I don't thoroughly enjoy one of her titles.
And, I enjoyed this one.

Amalie and Matthias are a bit of an unlikely pair. But, this is what makes them work, and like one another, and respect one another. This is a big part, and one of the main reasons I really enjoy her titles, they respect one another. Amalie may be a woman, but her feelings and thoughts aren't discounted, and, it's enjoyable. So much of historical romance has the woman in the background because of the time period and, well, it's probably realistic for the time, but it doesn't make it a fun read. So, knowing this won't happen in one of her titles helps. A lot.

I really enjoyed the setting for this title. It's just before World War 2, and people kind of know it's coming, it's a part of conversations and of daily life. I liked this. I liked that it felt different, and interesting, and it didn't feel like every other historical title out there.

As always, I enjoyed and recommend this title.

The third installment in the Burning Cove series is as stylish and entertaining as its predecessors. Former trapeze artist (or “flyer”) Amalie Vaughan survived a murder attempt but lost her career. Now the indomitable Amalie is starting over as the proprietor of a bed-and-breakfast in Burning Cove… in the same mansion where Hollywood psychic “Madame Zelda” met her death in a previous novel.

When Amalie’s first guest, an inventor, is shot onstage by the robot he was demonstrating at the time, Amalie is pulled into the ensuing investigation. Heading that investigation, at least on the “private” side, is Matthias Jones, a man with reputed mob connections and an uncanny talent for detecting lies. If your intuition is stirring, you’re right: Matthias is one of those Joneses.* Alas for Arcane fans, that tangential connection is as close as the book comes to the Arcane Society series. Jones’s ability, while useful in the course of the book, doesn’t play a major role in the plot; with one or two exceptions, the story could have unfolded just as well without it.

I always enjoy Krentz/Quick’s novels, and it has been a delight to watch this series develop. It is set in 1930s California, a place and era that Quick hasn’t explored before, but one well-suited to her brand of mysterious, sexy, twist-filled and just slightly hard-edged romantic suspense. I tend to plow through her books at breakneck speed, on tenterhooks to see how the convoluted plot will unwind, and I’m rarely disappointed. She never fails to surprise me somehow, although I confess that this time I harbored strong suspicions about one or two of the villains.

While the first book is my favorite in the series by a slight margin, this one still gets 4 stars for sheer fun. Robots, fading movie stars, secret agents, gossip rags, and plenty of danger, plot twists, and romantic sizzle make for a potent mix. And my fingers remain crossed for even more Arcane Society in the next book.



*Not a spoiler, since the author herself announced it. From Jayne Ann Krentz’s Instagram, April 4: “This is the book that features a hero named Jones. For all you Arcane fans, nope, that is not a coincidence.”

This is book 3 in the Burning Cove series. It can be read as a stand alone. Set in the 1930's, Amalia moves to Burning Cove to begin a new life. She wants to open a bed and breakfast and spends all her money to buy a house that is said to be cursed. It appears to be true when murder and mayhem take place early on. When Matthias shows up asking for help finding a cipher machine, they must decide if they can trust each other and let romance take it's course. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Amaline Vaughn, a former trapeze artist, moved to Burning Cove to start a new life. Along with her aunt, Amaline opens the Hidden Beach Bed & Breakfast. Unfortunately, business is not going so well. Before buying, Amaline wasn't aware that there was a curse on the inn. Apparently a Hollywood Psychic to the Stars, one Madame Zolanda, threw herself off the balcony, and now their first, and currently only, guest Dr. Norman Pickwell has been murdered in front of a full audience of people by none other than his robotic invention Futuro. When Matthias Jones shows up at the Inn to look through Dr. Pickwell's things, Amaline knows immediately that there's more going on than a man's creation turning on him.

It seems that Dr. Pickwell was in possession of a cipher machine which he was supposedly set to sell to a mysterious buyer while in Burning Cove. As Matthias and Amaline team up to discover the murderer, they're faced with an even deeper conspiracy. One that may tie back into Amaline's reason for coming to Burning Cove in the first place.

I think that Tightrope is, so far, my favorite book of the series. Each book has had the old-school, Golden Age of Hollywood vibe to it, but I feel like Tightrope was the most enmeshed in the Hollywood culture than the other two books. I think it's something that has been building throughout the series and I just really enjoy getting a (fictionalized) behind-the-scenes look.

This was also the first time where there were two mysteries running side by side. I'm talking about Amaline's and the death of Dr. Pickwell and the cipher machine. There were almost too many threads weaved through this story, the ending took a lot of explaining, which for me wasn't a bad thing. I kind of enjoy when things are all presented nice and neat at the end, but I could see how some people would find it too much. The search for the cipher machine and the implications of why it was so badly wanted took center stage here and pretty much masked over the things that Amaline was dealing with personally, the incident that drove her to Burning Cove in the first place felt almost like an afterthought. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it could have almost been omitted as its bearing on the overall story was small.

Whereas I can see the consequences of how the other events played out flowing into the next book. By the end, things were tied up, I'd say, loosely. I'm hoping it's a storyline that Amanda Quick decides to follow.

Now, as for Matthias and Amaline. I really enjoyed the building of their relationship. Despite what happens to Amaline, I really liked her strength of character. I like how she looked out for herself and was pretty self-assured. I also liked that Matthias doesn't try to fit her into the role of "delicate woman". Regardless of any danger, he asks for her input and he listens to her suggestions and ideas, he even, on occasion, takes her with him on the investigation. Amanda Quick also gives Matthias an interesting family background which works, for the most part, if you just go with the flow of the story.

It's really the mystery that kept and caught my attention and despite the almost too many twists and turns, I thought it was done well and certainly surprised me in the end.

I'll be interested to see if events cross over into the next book, and even though his story has been, almost quietly, playing in the background, I'd bet Luther Pell has more up his sleeve that warrants a book all his own (well, along with his lady love Raina Kirk)

Our patrons go crazy over this author. Like always Krentz draws you in with her masterfully story telling and backdrops. The characters are as mysterious has ever and secrets run abound this romantic suspense. What I love the most arw her female protagonist they're strongminded, willful and stubborn to a fault.

I read Amanda Quick's books simce I could Remeber. Each and everyone of them were good. This ine was good too and it kept my interest from beginning till end. I would say the book was not as spectacular as her older books but the fact that the author used her charm in the charactors and witty plot made me read this one in matter of few days.

This series is wonderful and this book is a great addition. With each title, we are introduced to new characters in starring roles, but the mainstays of Burning Cove continue to play an active role. The mystery kept you guessing until the very end. The time setting of these books makes them a pleasure to read.

Amalie Vaughn hears the voice in her nightmares.

“Fly for me Princess,” the killer said. “If you fly, I’ll let you live.”

He was lying.

Amalie Vaughn knew that death awaited her at the top of the trapeze ladder. She had no choice but to climb to the narrow platform. The long wire necklace strung with glittering black glass beads was a garrote around her throat. The Death Catcher used it as a chain to control her.

“I watched you fly tonight at the evening performance,” the Death Catcher said. “You were so pretty in your costume. It was all I could to wait until now.”

But along with excellent reflexes and balance, Amalie has what her father called “flyer’s intuition.” And she tricks the killer into stepping onto the platform with her. Realizing his precarious position, the killer rails at her, “You crazy bitch.”

“I fly for a living and I do it without a net,” she said. “Of course I’m crazy.”

But Amalie is not crazy enough to fly again after her near murder. She is the last of the famed trapeze artists The Fabulous Flying Vaughns and figures its safer to turn to a new venture.

It’s the late 1930s. The effects of the Depression linger, and war is on the horizon. Movie stars, though, are still movie stars, and Amalie thinks she might be able to cater to them. Along with her Aunt Hazel, Amalie buys a large villa on Ocean Lane in Burning Cove that makes her think, “It had been made to order for a Hollywood movie.” Only she wasn’t counting on it being a horror movie.

Tightrope is Amanda Quick’s 3rd novel set in Burning Cove. Amalie has rechristened the hotel as “The Hidden Beach.” After purchasing the house, Amalie learns that Madam Zolanda, psychic to the stars, committed suicide on the premises and starts to feel the inn may well stay hidden.

However, a paying guest arrives. Dr. Norman Pickwell promises to show a packed audience that his robot invention has artificial intelligence and can obey simple commands. The crème de la crème of Burning Cove society is in the audience to witness the event. Things don’t go according to plan, and it appears Dr. Pickwell has been murdered by his own robot. Now, Amalie has two dead bodies to her hotel’s credit.

Before she can even think what her next step will be, mysterious Matthias Jones comes to the hotel claiming to be a friend of mobbed-up Luther Pell, owner of the best hotel in town, and suggests that Amalie and her aunt should consider him “something” of a “private investigator.” He tells Amalie that Dr. Pickwell had invented a cipher machine called Ares, which I’m sure is not so coincidentally named after the Greek god of war. The device is also likened to the Enigma machine of Bletchley Park fame.

The meaning seems clear. War is coming, and all hell will break loose if the machine is not found. Matthias Jones feels it would be best if he stayed at the hotel to aid in the investigation. As long as he is a paying guest, it’s okay by Amalie.

The work of a hotel keeper, though, is never done. And now arrives a genuine movie star, Vincent Hyde, “the legendary star of a string of horror movies.” But as negative publicity continues to surround Amalie’s hotel, she feels serious pressure.

The latest headline: “THE CURSE OF MADAM ZOLANDA? MANSION WHERE FAMOUS PSYCHIC DIED UNDER MYSTERIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES CLAIMS ANOTHER VICTIM.”

But Vincent Hyde is on the spot to assure her.

“Take it from me, almost any kind of publicity is better than no publicity.”



Something in his tone gave her pause.



“Almost any kind? She repeated.



“There is very little in the way of publicity that can kill a Hollywood career, Miss Vaughn. Most gossip simply adds fuel to the fire. But there are only one or two lines that cannot be crossed, not if one hopes to survive the industry.”



“Only one or two?



“Indeed.” Vincent winked. “And I am happy to tell you that trivial things such as bizarre murders and psychic’s curse from beyond the grave are not on that very short list.”

While the search for the cipher machine continues in earnest, Amalie and her aunt and staff come up with a way to capitalize on their hotel’s notoriety. They will serve afternoon tea for a small charge and take guests to the now-famous rooms of the dead and even some of the undead. Madam Zolanda and Dr. Pickwell are a sure bet, but visitors also get a peek at the real-life investigator Matthias Jones’s room as well as Vincent Hyde’s, who just happens to be on hand to sign autographs after tea.

The plotting, though interesting, is not particularly original. If Amanda Quick could not come up with something clever for the cipher machine, she might have been better off with a different MacGuffin. Though set in the 1930s and suggesting Hollywood glamour, there’s nary a hint of it—no shiny Bakelite floors, gold lame’ gowns, platinum blondes, or silver cigarette cases. The tale could have been set at any time.

That said, Quick’s heroine and hero are genuine fun. Amalie and Matthias share some amusing banter, get into some interesting scrapes, and make this entry into the series a fun read.

Tight Rope was a thrilling tale with smart dialogue and a strong, resourceful heroine that you can’t get enough of. This is the third book in the amazing Burning Cove series and I loved every minute of this. Amalie sinks her life savings, after leaving the circus, into a bed and breakfast that has seen its fair share of death when the previous owner jumped off the balcony. Her first paying guest is Dr Norman Pickwell, a scientist who plans to spotlight his robot invention in front of a sold-out crowd but his creation turns on him and shoots him during their performance. Now, Matthias Jones, comes to Amalie’s hotel looking for clues and has his fair share of secrets as well. The chemistry between Matthias and Amalie is electric and these two are on a race against time to find a killer before it is too late.

I got lost in this story and I was hooked from the very first page of this well-written mystery. Amalie was a character that you instantly connected with who finds herself in the middle of danger and a killer that is bent on revenge. Matthias was the perfect guy for her because he had secrets of his own and he was willing to do whatever it takes to bring a killer to justice and to protect the woman that he loves. Tight Rope will keep you on the edge of your seat and I couldn’t get enough of the residents of Burning Cove.

The old adage, "It's always the quiet ones that you have to watch." Has never held truer than in the case of Burning Cove, California. As this once idyllic heaven for the rich and often infamous. Once again becomes the perfect backdrop for intrigue, secrets, plots, and murder.


All good things must end. And in the case of this awesome series, this is one series that this reviewer will hate to see go.
The grandeur and enchantment that was 1930's Hollywood. The evil that lurks in the minds of the rich and powerful. Or those that want to be rich and powerful. The stellar storytelling genius that is Amanda Quick. All working in concert to provide readers with a truly unforgettable reading experience.

While this new story draws readers into the dark and shadowy world of murder by robot. There are a great many things that either remain the same. (i. e. The heroine trying to escape a past determined to catch up to her.)
This time in the form of former trapeze artist Amalie Vaughn.
A woman haunted by the murder of the man who tried to kill her. And the person who saw it all.
As well as backstories and continuations that serve to answer questions posed in previous books in the series.

This is an awesome interrelated series that lovers of mystery, the lore of Old Hollywood, plot-twists galore, and things that go bump in the night.

This latest installment of the Burning Cove series centers around a woman who has survived a serial killer and a man who can sense lies. Amalie Vaughan and Matthias Jones first cross paths when an inventor is seemingly killed by the very robot that he has created. As events get more complicated, and more dangerous, Amalie discovers that there is more to Matthias than she realized at first, and that the ghosts of her past aren't as far away as she had hoped. As always, Amanda Quick's writing and characters draws you in and you'll find it hard to put this book down before you've reached the end. Definitely looking forward to book 4!

Tightrope is the third installment in Amanda Quick's Burning Cove series, set in the quaint town of Burning Cove, a California coastal hideaway. From the start, the reader is galvanized to the pages. A puppeteer set on the course to murder lurks behind the scenes of traveling circuses. Another puppeteer arranges the deaths of scientists. What do all these puppeteers have in common? They are all related to the Mob. This single aspect of the story makes it clear to readers that tale is set in America's Post-Prohibition Era of the 1930's.

Amalie Vaughn came from a family of flying trapeze artists. She quit the profession after a crazed man almost murdered her. Quick's storytelling in this scene is riveting, enticing the reader to go on reading, trying to understand why the would-be-murderer is on a mission to kill Amalie and has killed other trapeze artists. After leaving the traveling circus, Amalie settles in Burning Cove where she purchases a beautiful mansion with the intension of using it as a glamorous bed-and-breakfast for the rich and famous who seek a respite in the cozy town.

Her first guest is a famous inventor, who is murdered, fueling the speculation that the mansion is cursed. Matthias Jones enters the story, a man supposedly connected to the Mob and is asking a lot of questions but not giving any answers. The two join forces and enter into an investigation fraught with spies, crazed murdering fiends, and a romance that blossom between the pair.

Amanda Quick's novels are enjoyable for the author's instinct to embellish a romance with suspenseful twists and unexpected turns. Not that real life reflects this type of intrigue and drama but as a reader these aspects work to intensify the main characters passionate romance, as it does in Tightrope.

This is the 3rd book in the Burning Cove series, but my 1st book in the series. There were several mysteries to solve, but the romance and love was not one of them. Mathias and Amelia are a great couple and I enjoyed their story.

I guess I don't enjoy the whole 1930s historical. The book was ok, but there was nothing here that made it special. I did not find it a quick read and it had a different tone from her other historicals (I love her regency histroicals) .

We learn more about the Jones clan, which I like in any year.

Advance read from NetGalley