 |
Coats has crafted a novel that blends a cozy mystery with a suspense thriller. The cozy elements include a baby rescue, nice cars, private jets, prizefighters, scotch, and a loyal dog. Set in Marin County in the San Francisco Bay area in both 1941 and 2011, this book interweaves two different stories that follow the safekeeping of the same hidden key from two different time periods. Both storylines span global locations such as Bali, The Netherlands, England, and the United States.
The pleasure in reading this book involves seeing how the author connects it all. Seventy years ago, a young American woman safely recovered two parts of a key to the vault of the Netherlands national treasure. How she did this with Nazi treasure hunters on her trail builds suspense. Why and how Jerod Grey is involved with that story in 2011 gives the reader's mind plenty of puzzling facts to try to string together to solve the mystery.
Jerod Grey is the leader of an Adventurers' Club, a non-profit organization that retrieves stolen artifacts and returns them to their rightful owners. He and his team are trying to solve a mystery that involves an agent named Amelia Bauer, who worked as a courier during World War II. The story opens with a business meeting, but the action gets tense when the Akauola brothers injure Jerod in an attempt to steal the papers that were hidden behind a Salvador Dali painting that hangs in Jerod's living room. It is revealed that Jerod's nemesis, Chandler LaBlanc—an archaeologist who works for Charles Bellington, a real estate tycoon—hired the thugs. The odds are stacked against Jerod. He needs to ward off teams of greedy treasure hunters in his quest. He intends to find the missing pieces of Woden's Key, so the Netherlands will be able to recover the treasure that was elaborately hidden during the war.
The author employs historical figures and facts to enhance his narrative. For example, in 1941, Salvador Dali and other artists ran from the Nazi regime. In the States, they enjoyed galas. At one such gala, called "The Enchanted Night in a Surreal Forest," Amelia lands her work as a courier. Twenty-one years old in 1941, Amelia doesn't know what a courier's job entails. She finds out and yet is still spirited in the face of mortal danger.
In the 2011 story, Jerod is in a relationship with Stephanie, but it is only a mild romance. Meanwhile, in 1941, Amelia and Brandon work together to evade the treasure hunters working for Hitler. Their partnership turns into a relationship that delivers a more urgently erotic tone. They help the Dutch resistance against the Nazis when they get to the Netherlands. In 2011, Jerod's team reads details in Amelia's diary to direct Jerod to where Amelia traveled next. Jerod retraces Amelia's steps to find the key.
The book's cozy scenes show characters eating kettle bread in Sausalito or sipping twenty-one-year-old single malt scotch (neat, of course). Extensive descriptions of schemes and covert operations will likely appeal to readers not turned off by foul language and who delight in a good mystery, realistic fight scenes, and baby care.