An exciting and engaging WWII novel .This was a great addition to the series with an ending that will leave the reader anticipating the next installment.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Locked in Pursuit Is the 4th book in the Electra McDonnell series.

First - I’m a huge Ashley Weaver fan so I may be a bit biased. I love the way she tells a story. I have also read her Amory Ames series.

The series starts with A Peculiar Combination and I highly recommend you start with the beginning. Ellie is in a family of safe crackers - who sometimes have illegal pursuits. The government needs their help with vetting out German spies in London.

And I agree with the other reviewers- this book in the series really heats up!

I almost want to say this was the favorite of mine from this series.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for an ARC copy.

I just reviewed Locked in Pursuit by Ashley Weaver. #NetGalley

4.5 stars. This series continues to be one of my favorites. The story here reverts back to London after last book's undercover mission in Sunderland. The events at the end of the last book (without spoiling anything) continue to weigh on both Ellie and the Major, and Ellie is forced to confront her feelings about both the Major and Felix - whose own clandestine activities continue here. The main mystery is interesting as always: Ellie and the Major are tracking down a valuable map that the Germans seek to steal. They know that an evacuee who flew out of Portugal had it on them, but they don't know who or where it's being kept. They are in a race against the Germans, who are not afraid to kill anyone who gets in their way.

On the personal front, we get to meet the Major's sister, who is a delightful addition. She immediately sees the chemistry between Ellie and the Major and tries to help them both realize their feelings. A few additional spies working for the British government are also introduced and are fun new characters who will hopefully reappear. Ellie makes some small headway in her search for the truth about her father's role in the last war, though as usual she is left with more questions than answers.

The last quarter of the book deserves 5+ stars -- so much happens, and there are some big pivotal moments for the series going forward (both positive and negative for Ellie). I will keep this review spoiler-free, but I am VERY excited to read the next book to see how it all plays out.

Thank you to Minotaur Books and Netgalley for providing an ARC for review!

I have literally done nothing but read this book since obtaining it. So much for laundry, cooking, etc. I have read all books in the Electra McDonnell series and had eagerly awaited this newest entry. I can’t decide if each one gets better, but I have never been disappointed, and this one was a thrill ride. Unfortunately, I now have to wait again for the next installment. This series, for me, is the most addictive.

Electra McDonnell, thief and safecracker, was persuaded/coerced to use her skills to help British Intelligence in London during WWII. Each book in the series has required her to work with Major Ramsey, the officer who recruited/coerced her. There is such a slow burn going on between them, you can cut the sexual tension with the proverbial knife. But that isn’t the only plot point that keeps me interested. The female character is smart, compassionate, and level-headed. For example, in this story, she is the one that notices something odd in a reported story about a burglary. She and the major then discover that r the thieves are looking for a map of use to Germany. So, what follows is the two thwarting these plans. There are also many other side plots with spies, lechers, and an ongoing plot as Electra tries to uncover information about her parents who died when she was very young.

The only negative is the wait between books in this series. Not that the author takes too much time, but the books are that good, and you won’t want to reach the end.

I really enjoyed this installment of Ecletra Mcdonell series. It picks up 3 months after the last book. The last book ended with little hope of Electra and the major working together in the future. But when Electra reads something strange in the paper she goes to the major with concern something is going on. Once the major confirms there is something shady going on, They get to work together again to hunt down a group of curious thieves that are not really intent on taking all the expensive things. The game is a foot!
We get to see their friendship come back around especially with Ellie showing concern from his recovering injuries and him accepting her advice/care to get better. Ellie does do some things that just had you screaming noooo don’t do it. The ending is emotional and of course a cliff hanger. Can’t wait for the next one!

This is one of my favorite mystery series! Electra is an engaging and compelling main character. Her potential romantic entanglements enhance the plot but don’t overshadow her work, which is a balance I prefer.

5 stars! I need the next book! And I need it now! You can’t end it like that! I’m so invested in this series. This book gave me everything I wanted since reading the first instalment and then took it all away again! Rude.

Ellie is back in London. We have the usual mix of spying, safe-cracking and personal story development. Just a brilliant, fun time! If you’ve enjoyed the previous books in the series, especially the characters, then this one won’t disappoint! It just might leave you frustrated and desperately wanting more!

Although Ashley Weaver does a fantastic job recapping past events, readers should really start at the beginning of the series. Each of the books builds on events that happened previously.

Loved this addition to the Electra McDonnell series. I especially appreciated the development in Ellie and Ramsey’s relationship. It was time for things to progress and I’m glad the author recognized that. That said, this story is still plenty angsty! Almost painfully so….yet that makes me even hungrier for the next installment.

In this, the fourth book in the series, we follow the continued adventures of Ellie McDonnell. Ellie comes from a crime family. Specifically, she's an expert in safe cracking. She is working with British Military Intelligence during World War II.

Ellie hasn't seen her handler in quite some time. When she comes to see him, he is acting aloof. He doesn't seem to remember or acknowledge the kiss they shared in their last adventure. But she must still talk to him. She has noticed a recent crime that seems suspicious. When he digs in, he sees a pattern of mysterious crimes. It appears that this is the work of German spies as they attempt to find a valuable map.

The situation begins to warm up as the team is put back together. Ellie's skills are needed to get the map and substitute it with a fake map. But the situation is complicated by her growing feelings for her handler. The return of her childhood friend make the situation even trickier.

I really like this series. The characters are interesting and involving. The dialog is witty. The plot is very intriguing. The romantic angle doesn't get in the way of the suspense and mystery of the book. I highly recommend this book and the rest of the books in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley for the early review copy. I am a huge fan of the Electra McDonnell series, and this one does not disappoint. Ashley Weaver deftly writes these characters and their experiences in such a way that you feel like you are spending time with close friends, and experiencing all of the challenges, emotions and events that they face right along with them. In this installment, Ellie reads a newspaper article that raises a lot of questions, and she takes her concerns to Ramsey. Together they go in pursuit of a ring of thieves who are leaving destruction in their wake and whose motives are clearly a concern for political reasons. All of our favorite characters make an appearance, and we also meet a few new folks to add to this beloved ensemble. And when you get to the end, be ready for quite a cliffhanger. It is going to be very hard to wait or book five. Highly recommend if you enjoy mysteries, spies, WW2 stories. Also great for fans of the Mitford series or Maisie Dobbs. Such a fun and engaging series.

Locked in Pursuit is the fourth book in the Electra McDonnell series about the safecracking spy and her family during World War II. Ellie has the opportunity to break some laws and pick some locks in her work for the handsome and inscrutable Major Ramsey. At the same time, she makes progress in deciphering her own mysterious background. Ellie’s smart, skillful character is engaging and endearing. I desperately want only happy endings for her, even though I realize that as a mystery’s protagonist, she’s destined to encounter one difficulty after another. I wish the talented Ashley Weaver speedy writing on Book 5 in this wonderful series! (I read an advance review copy)

Ashley Weaver’s series featuring safecracker-turned-spy Electra “Ellie” McDonnell was supposed to end as a trilogy; however, when Playing It Safe, the third novel in the series, ended on a cliffhanger, fans realized that there would have to be a fourth. What joy! (And there has to be a fifth, as well — I, for one, can’t wait — as Locked in Pursuit foreshadows the next book, to be set on the Continent.)

A ruthless gang — likely connected to Nazis — is desperately looking for something smuggled into England from Portugal. But what is it? Readers will enjoy every minute of the quest.

In this book, readers will also anticipate the will-they/won’t-they whisper of a romance between Ellie and tall, blond and handsome Major Gabriel Ramsey. Can independent, improvising Ellie and the by-the-book major make a go of it? You’ll be on the edge of your seat to the very last page finding out.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Minotaur Press in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first historical fiction read in quite some time so I wasn't sure how I would like it. I'm happy to say I was pleasantly surprised and will be giving it a 3.5.

Going into this read I realized that it was the fourth in a series so I wasn't entirely sure if that would be an issue - thankfully it wasn't. The author explained enough of the backstory to catch you up without disrupting the story. As a whole Electra was a decent character, but had some traits that I find less than enjoyable. The book was good enough that I will be looking for the next one in the series to see what's to come for Electra and Major Ramsey.

Thank you, Ashley Weaver, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for the ARC. Darling Girls will be published on May 14, 2024.

How does this series keep on getting better? Ellie and Ramsey are once again working together to investigate some suspicious burglaries that lead back to Lisbon. The romantic tension is now at boiling point and the readers will get a tantalizing glimpse at what could be. I'm already counting down the days until the next installment!

Ashley Weaver has an incredible ability to solve the mystery at hand while simultaneously leaving you with an ongoing cliffhanger throughout the series!

Electra McDonnell is such a fascinating character—a supposedly reformed thief who comes face to face with the basis of love and trust in Locked in Pursuit. Major Ramsey is also quite multifaceted and I feel he may have yet more secrets hidden beneath his cool professional exterior.

Once again, I simultaneously can't wait for the next book and want to read the whole series over again to put together more of the clues to Electra's past.

This is the 4th installment of Ellie and Major Rasmey did not discourage.I have always been intrigued by spy novels and the fact this one is during WWII and also has a bit of romance, makes this more alluring.

With the twists and turns and the anticipation of more of a connection between Ellie and Major Rasmey, I finished this book in three days. Some of Ellie's antic’s left me wanting to throw the book in frustration, but I was giving her the benefit of the doubt due to the circumstances.

The next installment can not come fast enough.

I received a complimentary copy of the book from St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I've read all 4 books in Ashley Weaver's Electra McDonnell series and enjoyed all the updates and events in this one! I think you could read this book as a stand alone, but would probably enjoy it more as part of the series so you have more of the back story and see how the character's relationships change and develop.

There is so much World War II fiction out there, but this series takes a different approach (or at least new and different to me) in the criminal turned spy route and it is refreshing. The main character, Ellie, seemed to be more reckless and simultaneously more fearful in this book, but that makes sense in light of the events in the last book and revelations around her family history.

I also appreciated the author bringing the romance and love triangle issues out in the open more instead of continuing to hint at intrigue for another book or two. It seemed more fitting as to how the characters and real people would actually act, while giving us all questions to be answered in the next book.

This is definitely worth a read, especially if you like historical fiction mysteries and want a new take on the World War II spy story.

I have enjoyed each installment in the Electra McDonnell series so far & this one did NOT disappoint! Ellie, and the Major and assorted other characters get embroiled in yet another spy mission, and all the main storylines carry on in intriguing ways!

The two quibbles I had were her 'finding' the coded note in a book that's been in a trunk that... has been in the house all along? and she just decided to look at it now? That felt a little like 'huh? she's been passionately hunting down this information about her parents for 3 books and NOW thought, hey let me look through that trunk of my parents' belongings that's been sitting there forever.
The conversation was sometimes a little too dumbed-down - Ellie was in a pub with Ramsay and one of his contacts who just finised describing how he has a network of informants he's cultivated over time, and she says in reply "spies?" Umm, yes, Ellie, spies. Obviously.

But anyway - those minor things out of the way - I am still LOVING, absolutely LOVING the slow burn romance betwen Ellie and Major Ramsay! And all the sneaky missions they go on! Also really enjoying some of our new characters that have been drawn into the story in this episode -- Major Ramsay's sister, Blandings.... Ellie attending the party with Dupere... so fun. And of course good ol' Felix is still rattling around... The story progresses on several fronts and I can't WAIT for book 5 - Weaver's set up a great scenario where the tension & forced proximity of Ellie & Ramsay will have to continue! How many books will this series be? I need to know.

Locked in Pursuit by Ashley Weaver
Pub date: May 14, 2024
Rating: 5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The only regret I have about reading an ARC of this book is that it means my wait for the next book is even longer since I read this 3 months before publication. I downloaded this after finishing another book at 2 am and this book kept me up the rest of the night. Could not put it down.

If you like a cozy period (WWII in this case) British mystery book with a spy/thriller component, this book is for you.
Ellie and Major Ramsey continue to have absolutely sizzling chemistry in what might be my favorite book of this series.
If you haven’t read books 1-3, I highly recommend reading those first before reading this phenomenal book. You’ll appreciate the will they/won’t they romance aspect of it more if you’ve experienced the excruciating slow burn of the first three books.

The thriller/spy aspect continues to deliver in this book, and I would go so far as to say it’s the most fast moving book of the series. Admittedly, I’ve been hooked from page one for each of the preceding books in the series, but this one really had me in its grip. I read this in one sitting.
Although the sort of cliff hanger end is killing me, I’m excited that it has set us readers up for another trip outside London for book 5.

Content-wise, I really loved meeting Noelle’s character and the Major Ramsey insights we got from her. I also liked how at least one aspect of the love triangle develops/resolves at the end of this one, even if the other part has me very impatiently waiting for the next book to find out what happens.

Ellie did make we want to yell at her a couple times in this. Her actions, even if justified sometimes, can prove so frustrating (to Major Ramsey most of all). But I could sense where some of her actions in this book were going to lead her and the subsequent confirmatory cliffhanger that resulted left me dying for more story. Ashley Weaver really knows what she’s doing with these books.

ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for honest review.

Mystery, intrigue, and a splash of romance are all locked up together in this latest Electra McDonnell book. I enjoyed the twists and turns of the story immensely. The ending, however, had me scream ever so slightly in frustration. This book hasn’t even been published yet and I need the next one!

#AshleyWeaver #ElectraMcDonnell #LockedInPursuit #historicalfiction