4.5 stars

Once again Amanda Quick delivers a keep you on the edge of your seat mystery, seasoned with an intriguing romance.

Set in the 1930s, the book evokes a film noir feel, complete with a circus family, murder, spies, and the underworld.

After surviving an attempt at murder that left her attacker dead on the circus floor, Amalie Vaugn left the circus where she had spent her life as a trapeze artist. She has opened a bed and breakfast in a fashionable sea side town with the help of her aunt and is struggling to build a clientele in spite of the fact that the prior owner committed suicide in the building.

When she and her aunt witness a murder at a theatre exhibit, she comes to the attention of Matthias Jones, a mysterious man rumored to have ties to the mob. He is actually working for the government, seeking a cypher machine that has been stolen, and moves into Amalie’s inn to see if he can find more clues to the machine.

But Matthias has a secret-he can tell whenever someone is lying to him. He knows everyone lies, but what is important is why. And what Amalie doesn’t know is that someone still wants her dead.

Can the two of them manage to solve their respective mysteries and develop a relationship?

This was a most enjoyable read. Both Amalie and Matthias are likeable characters and the suspense builds both in their mysteries and in their relationship. A great addition to the author’s body of work.

I couldn't stop reading it once I started. This was such a well written, fast paced, well developed book. The characters were well developed. I love the Burning Cove series.

Another entertaining installment in the Burning Cove series. I really enjoy the 1930s Hollywood-adjacent setting. Plus the gorgeous cover!

J'avais beaucoup d'attentes pour ce livre, mais je fus déçue. L'histoire a plusieurs éléments intéressants : l'époque, les années 1930, le lieu, la Californie, et le thème : meurtre et cirque. Des sujets pouvant réellement être extrêmement intéressants une fois mis ensemble. Je pensais avoir à faire au style de la série tv Carnival, mais rien de cela. Le style d'écriture ne me convient pas, et les l'histoire manque de punch.

Why did none of you tell me Amanda Quick’s new historical suspense series included descendants of her Victorian psychic family? This is like my own personal The Force Awakens and it is Gothic and glamorous and pulpy as all get out and I am ridiculously, absurdly happy about it.
A lovely trapeze artist pushes a would-be killer to his death in the first scene; in the second, a humanoid robot murders his creator in the middle of a public demonstration, as the same trapeze artist looks on in horror. It’s a jam-packed 1930s thriller romance just in time for the long, hot, vacation days of summer. We have gunrunners and mob men with hearts of gold, spunky heroines whose wits are as sharp as their tongues, a cursed hotel where a Hollywood psychic flung herself from the roof, several untrustworthy liars, and a missing encryption machine to find before the villain gets their hands on it.
Amalie and Matthias are fun characters — Amalie is especially grand, maybe one of the best AQ heroines ever — even if the romance doesn’t quite hit me in the gut like I wanted. We do get a good, slow burn at the start while the mystery twists the screws. The dialogue snaps with noirish banter, the whole thing’s low on the insta-lust, and despite all the glamorous murder it’s not too angsty or gory or gleeful about sexualized violence. Amanda Quick has been writing books just like this for decades, and I hope she never stops. It’s more slick than subtle, but it’s so nice to be in the hands of someone who knows what they’re doing even if you can see the gears turning while they do it. Perfect fluff with a moody glaze.

Amalie moved to Burning Cove and opened a bed and breakfast after surviving being attacked and almost killed. But there was a death in the house and now her only guest is killed in public and she worries if anyone will ever stay there. When there is a break in she finds herself working with a friend of reputed local mobster Luther Pell to solve the mystery and save her business and herself.

After a brush with death, former trapeze artist Amalie Vaughn has started fresh in Burning Cove. She and her aunt have purchased a mansion that was once owned by a famous psychic who came to an ill end and they’ve turned it into the Hidden Beach Inn. But when their first guest – Dr. Norman Pickwell – is murdered by his robot creation, the rumors start flying that perhaps the inn is cursed. Enter Matthias Jones, an investigator connected to Burning Cove’s most notorious mobster. Matthias is on the hunt for a prototype of a cipher machine Pickwell is rumored to have had. And he’s not the only one on the hunt for the machine, which means Amalie is now in danger. With her life and her business on the line, Amalie isn’t content to sit on the sidelines while Matthias investigates. Close quarters means the sizzling attraction between them is nearly impossible to resist. But if Matthias and Amalie want a chance to find out if that attraction could lead anywhere, they have to survive the dangerous figures closing in on them…

High glamour meets dark and dangerous secrets in Tightrope. I love the world of Burning Cove that Amanda Quick has created so I was eager to dive into this book. I’ve gone back and forth in the days since I read Amalie and Matthias’s story and while I did enjoy reading it, to me it simply wasn’t one of Ms. Quick’s more memorable stories. Amalie and Matthias are both likeable protagonists. Amalie has a strong spine, which I liked, and Matthias’s human lie-detector ability (a callback to Ms. Quick’s Arcane Society series) was intriguing. However, I never felt like I got to see too far beneath the surface, which was a pity. Their romance felt like a bit of an afterthought, though the bones of a good love story were there. The ineffable spark I’m used to from Ms. Quick’s characters seemed to be missing, so I wasn’t as invested as I would have liked to be. Don’t get me wrong – neither the characters nor the romance were bad, merely not as engaging as I would have liked.

The mystery and suspense elements are where the energy is at in Tightrope. There’s quite a bit going on that I can’t really talk about without spoiling the story. Murder and a missing cipher machine are only the beginning of the action. Ms. Quick deftly handles multiple plotlines and points of view, weaving things together so well that by the time everything comes to a head you won’t want to put the book down.

Tightrope is the third book in the Burning Cove series, but it can be read as a standalone. Characters from The Girl Who Knew Too Much and The Other Lady Vanishes do play supporting roles and fans of the series will delight in seeing some favorite faces again. Even though I was a bit let down by the romance part of this romantic suspense, the mystery elements and rich atmosphere were highly entertaining.

Tightrope is the third book in Amanda Quick's new 1930s historical series (The Other Lady Vanishes, The Girl Who Knew Too Much), set in the glamorous small town of Burning Cove. Like many of Burning Cove's residents, Amalie is trying to reinvent herself. She survived attempted murder by a serial killer and is ready for the quiet life of an innkeeper. All she has to work with is her aunt Hazel and the steely determination to make her new venture successful. When possible mobster Matthias Jones shows up to investigate the murder of her first (and only) guest, Amalie sees nothing but trouble unless the case gets solved quickly, so she makes sure to be part of the investigation. Matthias (long-time readers of Quick will cheer to see a return of the Jones family) may be trained as an engineer but his particular talent is in knowing the truth when he hears it- making him ideal in discovering the truth behind the murder. Sadly, being a human lie detector can make romantic relationships awkward to say the least. He's shocked when Amalie doesn't seem bothered by his talent, and knows he needs to see where the attraction between them can lead.

Matthias is a great addition to the Jones family tree, and Quick's heroes in general. He's intelligent, cynical, conspiracy-minded, a great liar, and knows a good thing when he sees one. I thought it was sweet that he also shows a bit more vulnerability than others, or maybe Amalie just sees that vulnerability more. Amalie is a quietly strong and brave woman willing to start over as many times as she needs to and to fight for what is hers. She and Matthias are a great fit, even if it takes them a little while to figure it out. I also enjoyed seeing more of reputed mob boss Luther Pell in Tightrope. As a secondary character he's been growing throughout the series and gets to have some truly shining moments here- as well as turning some of the reader's preconceived ideas on their heads!

The plot is a complicated mix of spies, government secrets, revenge, and greed that Quick weaves together into a seamless and intricate whole with even more than her usual storytelling talent. Snappy dialogue, sharp wits, and quirky characters may be Quick's stock in trade, but Tightrope felt to me like Quick is becoming even more comfortable in her new era of 1930s golden-age glamor. Tightly written and delightfully complex, Tightrope will thrill Amanda Quick/Jayne Ann Krentz fans and the beautiful art deco cover will hopefully entice a new group of readers to the wonderful world of Burning Cove.

My Thoughts:
Amalie came from a family of flying trapeze artists but quit the profession when a crazed man almost took her life. An exciting opening to a thrilling story! Deranged murderers, spies, espionage, non-stop action and romance makes this tale difficult to put down!

Amalie now resides in Burning Cove after buying a beautiful mansion with the intension of using it as a glamourous inn to house the rich and famous who’d like to get away. She got the mansion for a song, not before finding out about the rumors that it’s supposedly cursed. Her first guest, a famed inventor, is murdered, fueling the speculation. Enter Matthias Jones a man supposedly connected to the mob asking a lot of questions, and not giving a lot of answers. Amalie is damned if the inventor’s murder is going to put her out of business and inserts herself into Matthias’ investigations.

Amalie and Matthias dodge danger at every turn, and the intensity quickly bonds them making the attraction they’ve felt from the start ignite, turning into a fierce passion! I loved their chemistry and was happy that almost none of the conflict or drama came from their developing romance.

Loved the setting of Burning Cove, a fictional California coastal town set in the 1920s. A picturesque getaway for the rich and famous. The winding seaside cliffs overlooking the gorgeous Pacific Ocean reminds me of Big Sur, Monterey or Carmel, but with a bit more old-Hollywood glitz. This is the third installment in the Burning Cove series, but each can be read and enjoyed as a standalone. While Amalie and Matthias’ romance wrapped up nicely there was a little discovery that hinted there’s more to come, but maybe focused on another couple? I look forward to it!

<p>There's a lot going on in this newest murder mystery from Ms. Quick. Amalie turns the tables on her would be killer on the trapeze and retires to run a Bed and Breakfast in Burning Cove only to have her only paying guest fall victim to a robot inspired shooting. As various characters turn up the author maintains a good sense of mystery between events from the aborted murder in the circus top and the new murder in Burning Cove. Of course a touch of romance and rumors of the mob add a nice touch of spice to the story. </p>

<p>Mathias Jones for all the local rumors of mob connections shows up at the B&amp;B duly authorized by the local police force to look for clues in the latest bizarre murder in Burning Cove. As it turns out Amalie is trained to study her audience and Mathias is psychic both factors that will hold both in good stead as the story progresses. What is the connection of Amalie's latest paying guest to the events in Burning Cove other than a desire to exploit the ghoulish murder piggy backed on the suicide of the previous owner of Amalie's property.

<p>While the story plays out and the body count mounts Amalie and Mathias join forces to investigate the happenings behind the murder. Can the level of trust and their individual skills and talents help them to foil a murderer? Through Mathias Jones, the author gives readers the back story of how the Jones family from her much beloved multi-book series established a beach head in Burning Cove. </p>

<p>The author introduced the character of the other circus performer who comes to Burning Cove to extract revenge against Amalie leveraging her old circus connection to create an in. Yet even as all the other puzzle pieces fall into place this one seems to go no where leaving me puzzled what the author's intentions were here. </p>

<p>All in all a typical romantic suspense tale by the author. </p>

And we finally get the link – or at least a tangential link – if not to Scargill Cove (which I still think must be just up the coast) then to the Arcane Society. It’s there if you squint – and I was certainly squinting for it – but if you haven’t read any of the author’s Arcane Society books in any of its eras under any of her names, Tightrope still works well as a standalone, as the latest entry in the Burning Cove series, and as a terrific story of a heroine in jeopardy and the man who comes – not to rescue her – but to stand beside her as she rescues herself.

Just like the other books in this series, The Girl Who Knew Too Much and The Other Lady Vanishes, this story begins with a particularly gruesome murder, and with our heroine on the run. Even if in this particular case our heroine doesn’t actually know it.

Amalie’s running is just a bit less fraught than either Irene’s (Girl) or Adelaide’s (Lady), as Amalie Vaughan may be suspected of having murdered the rigger in her last circus, but she was never officially charged with anything. Nor should she have been.

After all, she didn’t murder him – he tried to murder her.

But when another murder happens almost literally on her doorstep, she can’t help but wonder if bad luck is following her. After all, she bought the Hidden Cove Inn at a bargain basement price after the events of The Other Lady Vanishes, when a noted Hollywood psychic threw herself from the roof.

Now one of her guests has been killed just down the road in the middle of his own show – by his very own robot! Amalie can’t help but wonder if she’s doomed to fail. All the Hollywood reporters who stake out Burning Cove are certain to give her inn endless pages of bad publicity – especially after someone breaks into the place in the middle of the night.

The only question is whether the purpose of the break-in is to search the late robot inventor’s room – or to finish up the job that the rigger intended at that last circus performance.

When rumored mobster (and real life covert agent) Matthias Jones convinces Amalie that he needs to stay at Hidden Cove both to protect her AND to keep an eye on things, it’s just the beginning of the adventure.

Because there’s much more going on in Burning Cove than just a crazy inventor and a runaway machine. And the chemistry between Matthias and Amalie is more incendiary than anything ever cooked up in his great-great-great-grandfather’s alchemical laboratory.

Escape Rating A-: Tightrope was a whole lot of fun, just like the other two books in Burning Cove. And also like all of the author’s books in the Arcane Society/Harmony series. But Burning Cove is only tangentially (very tangentially) related to the Arcane Society, and you certainly don’t have to have read any of that to enjoy this. It also stands alone relative to the other books in the Burning Cove series. But if you have read the whole thing, it is interesting to see the characters from the previous books again.

Burning Cove is a fascinating place. It’s close enough to LA for the Hollywood stars to use it both as a getaway and as a place to see and be seen.

One of the many fascinating side characters in Tightrope is fading actor Vincent Hyde, someone who was best known for his many horror films but who has come to Burning Cove to stay at Amalie’s “psychic murder mansion” in the hopes of generating some much-needed publicity for his failing career.

Vincent Hyde’s name sounds like an homage to the great horror actor Vincent Price, but the progress, or rather the downward trajectory of his career sounds a lot like the career of Bela Lugosi, a career which ended in the deliciously execrable cult classic, Plan 9 from Outer Space.

Hyde’s presence in the story, and in Burning Cove, is just the tip of one of the many layers of the story. Hyde is in town to meet with one of the legendary Hollywood gossip columnists – a woman who can make or break his remaining career. She’s in town to follow up on the inventor’s “death by robot” and so are a surprising number of others.

Because this is Hollywood, or close enough, and no one is exactly who they seem to be. Not Amalie, not Matthias, and certainly not Luther Pell, the man who seems to be running Burning Cove.

The story begins because a crazy circus performer has made a career of staging the last and final performance of too many beautiful trapeze artists – without a net. It ends with spies and secrets.

In the middle there’s a marvelous adventure, a combustible romance, and the exploration of a relationship that dives deeply into the value of trust and the danger of lies. Lies to oneself, lies to loved ones – and lies told at the highest levels of government.

It’s the 1930s, war is coming. Gentlemen may not read each other’s mail, but governments certainly do.

Amanda Quick’s slick, fun mystery series, set in the murder-laden town of Burning Cove in1930s California continues with Tightrope, a story about a former trapeze artist and the hired muscle who soon becomes the only man she can trust.

When the book opens, second-generation trapeze artist Amalie Vaughn, the Flying Princess of the Ramsey Circus, is being forced by Marcus Harding, a rigger and secretly a serial killer called the Death Catcher, to climb to her demise.  Amalie is the only to know his true identity, so Marcus is planning to eliminate her by staging a “tragic accident.”  But a struggle on the trapeze results in Marcus’ death instead – and the only witnesses are Amalie and the giggling, shadowed accomplice to Marcus’ murders.

Months later, Amalie and her aunt Hazel have left the circus to run The Hidden Beach Inn in the fashionable Hollywood suburb of Burning Cove.  Their only guest so far is a doctor named Norman Pickwell, who has sold out the Palace Theater with a demonstration of his robot named Futuro.  Hazel and Amalie are in attendance at the show when he’s shot to death in the middle of the demonstration by his own creation, leaving Hazel and Amalie to deal with the possible ruination of their business right out of the gate due to the resulting scandal.  It’s bad enough that Amelie bought the inn from Madame Zolanda, a psychic who predicted her own death on stage and then turned up dead; with Pickwell’s death, the rumor starts to circulate that the Inn is cursed. But sharp-eyed Amalie doesn’t believe in superstition or that the death of the professor was a tragic accident  – and it turns out she isn’t alone.

Hired muscle and some-time PI Matthias Jones - connected to Luther Pell, owner of Burning Cove’s best nightclub and controller of half the town – arrives and demands to see Pickwell’s room.  There’s nothing amiss there, but Matthias thinks that the crime might be connected to the disappearance of Pickwell’s hard luck assistant, Charlie Hubbard, who does indeed hold many of the clues to Pickwell’s death. After an unsuccessful attempt on Amalie’s life lands Hazel in the hospital, Matthias moves into the Hidden Beach to protect Hazel and Amalie, and in spite of themselves Amalie and Matthias begin to get closer.The stakes get higher, and the danger more violent and closer to home.  The ultimate question looms - was Pickwell a fraud, his robot merely a man in a suit, or was he connected to something much more dangerous, much more daring, than anyone dares to consider?

Quick has become adept at these retro noir-ish mysteries.  While Tightrope doesn’t quite have the punch of the first story in the series, it’s a creative, intriguing and deft tale and truly makes for an excellent beach read.Amalie is a delightful, gutsy and tough heroine, and I loved her romance with Matthias, another of the author’s scarred but quick-witted heroes.  The two of them are tough and have been around the block but are fearless when teamed.Minor characters – like Hazel – are a degree less interesting, though I definitely want a book about gutsy Willa Pratt, Marcus’ ex, who turns up to ask Amalie for a job and becomes part of the family. On the downside though, the mystery was only decent, though it did provide some truly unexpected twist.  It also required Mathias and Amalie to make contact with my still-favorite duo from the first book, The Girl Who Knew Too Much, crime beat reporter Irene and spa owner/ex-magician Oliver, now married, and it’s wonderful to see them again.  The only character who pops up from the second book is the dead Madame Zolanda, whose murder becomes a way for Amalie to make a little extra money.

Tightrope is a perfectly good little mystery – not outstanding in Quick’s canon, but a fun story that entertains.

Buy it at: Amazon/Apple Books/Barnes & Noble/Kobo

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I love Janye’s books whether she’s writing as Amanda Quick, Jayne Ann Krentz or Jayne Castle. Tightrope was a fascinating book with its peek into the land of the circus back in the late heyday of the circus. We have an understated connection with her Jones family featured in many of her other books. I read the book from “cover to cover” (if e-books had covers!), staying awake reading into the early morning hours as soon as Net Galley gave me access.

**I received an advanced reader’s copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

This is a great addition to the Burning Cove series. This third entry features Amalie, a former trapeze artist, and Matthias, a man rumored to have ties with the mob. Amalie’s current occupation as an innkeeper takes center stage when her first, and only, paying guest is murdered by a robot during a demonstration. Amalie and Matthias team up to find out the identity of the killer, only to turn up more secrets. Each uncovered secret leads the pair into more danger.

Quick (Jayne Ann Krentz) uses her usual formula of suspense, mystery and romance, with a tiny dash of magical realism, to craft a perfect book to escape from reality. While this is the third in the series, and there are recurring characters from the past two entries, it’s not absolutely necessary to read the first two series entries before this one. However, each novel develops Burning Cove into a more exclusive hideaway for celebrities and the criminally minded. The series takes place in the 1930s, so there is a fun historical element to the mix. A fun, quick read!

Review featured at www.books-n-kisses.com

3.5 Hearts Love the setting of 1930’s Los Angeles/Hollywood era. Amalie worked as a trapeze artist until she almost died and then decided on getting a B&B in the area. Problem is it comes with a history of murder and when a new murder happens there is a lot of speculation.

Matthias comes into the picture but lets say it is not love at first sight. But as with all romantic suspense the romance does play a part.

I am a fan of Jayne Ann Krentz/Amanda Quick but this is not one of my favorites. It can be read as a stand alone but you might want to read the previous two just to understand the background characters a bit better. I never seemed to connect with Amalie and Matthias just wasn’t the alpha I go for. But that being said it is still a good read. Just not one of my favorites.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Have ordered this book already for my store. Amanda Quick is an easy sell here and this book doesn't disappoint. Looking forward to more - that's my biggest complaint too long between books!

The third in Amanda Quick's Burning Cove series continues to delight. I am enjoying the 1930s setting and the characters of Burning Cove. We start with the mystery of who wants Amalie dead. That gets mixed in with another murder in their small town. When Amalie, a former tightrope walker in a circus, meets Matthias Jones who is investigating these goings-on, they both find someone who can accept who they are. I enjoyed watching the development of their relationship, was caught up in solving the mysteries, and was happy with how it all turned out.

"An unconventional woman and a man shrouded in mystery walk a tightrope of desire as they race against a killer to find a top secret invention in this novel from New York Times bestselling author Amanda Quick.

Former trapeze artist Amalie Vaughn moved to Burning Cove to reinvent herself, but things are not going well. After spending her entire inheritance on a mansion with the intention of turning it into a bed-and-breakfast, she learns too late that the villa is said to be cursed. When the first guest, Dr. Norman Pickwell, is murdered by his robot invention during a sold-out demonstration, rumors circulate that the curse is real.

In the chaotic aftermath of the spectacle, Amalie watches as a stranger from the audience disappears behind the curtain. When Matthias Jones reappears, he is slipping a gun into a concealed holster. It looks like the gossip that is swirling around him is true - Matthias evidently does have connections to the criminal underworld.

Matthias is on the trail of a groundbreaking prototype cipher machine. He suspects that Pickwell stole the device and planned to sell it. But now Pickwell is dead and the machine has vanished. When Matthias’s investigation leads him to Amalie’s front door, the attraction between them is intense, but she knows it is also dangerous. Amalie and Matthias must decide if they can trust each other and the passion that binds them, because time is running out."

A cursed house? A killer robot? Cryptography? Yes, yes, and yes!

Returning to Burning Cove, former trapeze artist has started an inn when one of her first guests is murdered by a robot. This sets off an investigation with a little romance thrown in. ARC from NetGalley.

Opening with our heroine, Amalie Vaughn, literally on the edge of death, Then it slips into a confusing third person omniscient overlook overlook of almost everyone in the book. It smooths out when Amalie gets to Burning Cove. She's picked up a mansion for a song. Too bad it's because a phony psychic was murdered there. And now that her first paying guest has also been murdered (on stage, by his own robot), she's not very hopeful that the profile of her hotel will improve. And now, Matthias Jones, a known associate of Luther Pell (night club owner and mob affiliate), is in her hotel. She just knows that the gossip is going to go wild.
Add in an enigma machine, a man intent on revenge, a star willing to do anything to reclaim his fading star, and a gossip columnist and this is a wild ride. There is a lot, a LOT going on in this book and it could have been pared down a bit but it was still a fun read.

Three and a half stars
This book came out May 7th
ARC kindly provided by publisher and NetGalley
Opinions are my own