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    The Girl Who Knew Too Much
    The Girl Who Knew Too Much
    The Girl Who Knew Too Much
    Audiobook10 hours

    The Girl Who Knew Too Much

    Written by Amanda Quick

    Narrated by Louisa Jane Underwood

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    The New York Times bestselling author of 'Til Death Do Us Part transports readers to 1930s California, where glamour and seduction spawn a multitude of sins. At the exclusive Burning Cove Hotel on the coast of California, rookie reporter Irene Glasson finds herself staring down at a beautiful actress at the bottom of a pool. The dead woman had a red-hot secret about an up-and-coming leading man, a scoop that Irene couldn't resist. Seeking the truth about the drowning, Irene finds herself drawn to a master of deception. Once a world-famous magician whose career was mysteriously cut short, Oliver Ward is now the owner of the hotel. He can't let scandal threaten his livelihood, even if it means trusting Irene, a woman who seems to have appeared in Los Angeles out of nowhere four months ago. With Oliver's help, Irene soon learns that the glamorous paradise of Burning Cove hides dark and dangerous secrets. And that the past-always just out of sight-could drag them both under.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateMay 9, 2017
    ISBN9781501948756
    The Girl Who Knew Too Much
    Author

    Amanda Quick

    Amanda Quick is the pseudonym for Jayne Ann Krentz, the author, under various pen names, of more than fifty New York Times bestsellers; there are more than 35 million copies of her books in print. She lives in Seattle.

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    Reviews for The Girl Who Knew Too Much

    4/5

    163 ratings24 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Personal Assistant Anna Harris discovers her murdered boss one evening and takes the warning her boss wrote in blood - Run - as very good advice. When she goes to her stash of cash, she discovers that her boss had added more cash and a notebook written in code to it. It's the 1930s and many people are reinventing themselves in Los Angeles, California. Anna - now Irene Glasson - has traded in her secretarial skills and now works as a reporter for a Hollywood gossip paper. When her mentor is found drowned in her bathtub, Irene is determined to investigate. Her investigation leads her to the Burning Cove Hotel which caters to the rich and famous. Many actors and actresses go there and are protected from unwanted publicity. When Irene arrives, budding actress Gloria Maitland is floating dead in the hotel pool and Irene hears stealthy footsteps coming her way. Irene's immediate thought is that Gloria's former boyfriend Nick Tremayne is involved.Oliver Ward is the owner of the Burning Cove Hotel. He was a former stage magician but a magic trick gone wrong has left him with a permanent limp and the need for a new career. He is determined to discover who is killing guests at his hotel and is eager to team up with Irene. The two are attracted but neither is quick to trust. The two begin their investigation and have to deal with still another mysterious death which almost caused the deaths of the pair of them.There are a variety of suspects including a deluded fan of Nick Tremayne who wants to help him out when it looks like he might be accused of murder. Then there is the man who killed Irene's boss and who really needs the notebook that came to California with her. Also throwing their weight around are movie studio fixers who will do anything to protect the reputation of Nick Tremayne. This was an engaging story with interesting characters. Irene was smart, independent, and a modern woman. Oliver was a nicely mysterious hero. I liked the romance that developed between Irene and Oliver. I liked the time period and setting. Hollywood in the 1930s was a fascinating time period.
    • 4/5
      Oh, this is a fun romp, in some ways a la Miss Fisher -- skirts the gritty edges of the underworld, embraces the golden age of Hollywood celebrity and very fast cars. I like the seriousness of the characters, and their clever, pragmatic solutions. Also, the shout outs to alternative lifestyles and a general commitment to integrity that is so lacking in many main characters.
    • 5/5
      Anna finds her employer dead with a warning written on the wall. She runs and changes her name to Irene turning up in Burning Cove, California. Becoming a gossip reporter, she is called by a woman who has some information on up-and-coming star Nick Tremayne. When she turns up at the meeting place she finds the woman dead. Now she is starting to put clues together but will she be right?I enjoyed this story. I could not put it down. I liked Irene and her get the story at any cost philosophy. Along the way she runs afoul of the owner of the Burning Cove Hotel, Oliver Ward, former magician. He has his secrets also. His attraction to Irene causes him to break a few of his rules. The secondary characters are good. Some are pure evil. Some got what they deserved. And I was wrong on the whodunit part. I was shocked when the explanation came out. I loved Irene and Oliver. The world building is excellent and I look forward to more in this series.
    • 3/5
      My first Amanda Quick mystery. In the 1930s, Anna Harris flees the home of her murdered employer, Helen Spencer, who bequeathed her cash and a notebook with mysterious notations. She drives across the country to restart her life as Irene Glasson in Burning Cove, California, just outside LA, but there are ruthless villains who will do anything to obtain that notebook. Good world-building, with plenty of flapper glamour, champagne, beautiful hotels, exotic cars, and movie stars with Pasts they want to keep hidden. Light, quick, often wry prose that feels just right, and with a nice spritz of romance.
    • 4/5
      4.5 stars.

      The Girl Who Knew Too Much by Amanda Quick is a delightfully clever mystery that is set during the glamorous Golden Age of Hollywood.

      After her previous job abruptly comes to a dangerous and tragic end, Irene Glasson reinvents herself upon her arrival in Los Angeles. Now an up and coming reporter at gossip rag Whispers, she is hoping her upcoming meeting with Gloria Maitland provides her with the information for a titillating article on rising star Nick Tremayne. Unfortunately, Irene finds Gloria's lifeless body in the swimming pool at the upscale Burning Cove Hotel. Believing Gloria's death is no accident, Irene remains in town and pairs up with the hotel's owner (and former magician) Oliver Ward to try and uncover the truth about Gloria's death.

      Irene is a spunky young woman who does not shy away from danger. She is resourceful, confident and determined to find the truth about Gloria's death. She is reluctant to completely trust Oliver, but once she realizes how far Nick's studio will go to protect their star, she has no choice but to work with him.  Stubbornly convinced that Nick is connected to Gloria's death and her co-worker Peggy Hackett's eerily similar death,  Irene ignores the danger surrounding her and doggedly pursues every lead she finds.

      Despite his previous fame, Oliver now keeps a low profile and he is a little mysterious since he refuses to discuss the accident that ended his career.  Since he is intensely protective of his guests, he is not at all pleased to discover that Irene somehow managed to  find her way onto to the hotel grounds. It goes without saying he has a vested interest in learning the truth about what happened to Gloria since the negative publicity could harm his hotel's reputation. Oliver is stunned by the spark of interest he feels for Irene and the more time he spends in her company, the more vibrant and alive he feels. While he can be a little grumpy and close-mouthed, he is nothing but supportive of Irene throughout their investigation.

      Irene's investigation takes many surprising twists and turns as Nick tries to downplay any involvement with her death. Although Irene is a little frightened by some of the strong arm tactics employed by the studio's hired goons, she refuses to give up digging for the truth. Will Irene and Oliver find the evidence they need to support her theory about that Nick is Gloria's killer?

      Although there is plenty of danger surrounding them, Oliver and Irene find the time to explore their unexpected attraction for each other. While their romance is a delightful addition to unfolding story, the investigation into the suspicious deaths remains the main focus of the storyline.

      The Girl Who Knew Too Much is a wonderful novel with a fantastic cast of characters and intriguing mysteries to solve.  Amanda Quick deftly brings both  the time period and setting vibrantly to life. Irene is a gutsy heroine who never lets anyone or anything deter her from finding the truth about the what happened to Gloria and Peggy.  The killer's identity and motive for the murders are carefully concealed until the novel's dramatic conclusion.  I thoroughly enjoyed this spellbinding novel and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical mysteries.
    • 3/5
      Irene Glasson started over in 1930s Los Angeles like so many others. But while on a story for a small Hollywood gossip newspaper in the small resort town of Burning Cove, she discovers a body that may be linked to one of the most promising new stars, Nick Tremayne. As bodies begin to pile up, Irene will have to rely on the help of local resort owner, Oliver Ward, to get out of the mess alive.A perfectly adequate mystery with a well-written 1930s setting. Amanda Quick (pen name of romance write Jayne Anne Krentz) gets the plot going with a bang and keeps everything churning along at a solid pace. While her characters have interesting backgrounds and careers, I finished the novel feeling like I got no insight into their internal emotional lives, why they really cared about each other, or why I should care much about their HEA. I didn't hate the novel but I won't be inclined to pick up other books in the series.
    • 4/5
      It was a decent start to a new series. I believe the author chose a really interesting era to set this series in as it was reminiscent of The Thin Man series also from that period. Readers of Amanda Quick’s previous books will find that she has combined her dry wit, plots that twist and turn, and fantastic characterization into this series as well. The character of Irene was a woman that was certainly ahead of her time. I’m looking forward to more of these books.
    • 2/5
      Thanks to the publisher for this ARC. I found this to be very different for this author. I was intrigues and thought I would give it a try. I enjoy her other writings much more. Sadly disappointed in the characters and movement of the story. Ok but not something I would recommend.
    • 5/5
      Anna Harris, a nondescript private secretary, arrives at her employer's home one day to find said employer in a pool of her own blood, the centerpiece of a grisly murder scene. She sees one word written in her employer's blood - Run - and decides to follow the command. She runs upstairs, packs her things - including a mysterious notebook her employer left her in possession and a cryptic note about how it can be used as a bargaining chip, should she need it - and gets out of town. Scared, on the run, and a little paranoid about this unknown quantity of a notebook, she decides to head west and go underground, changing her identity and her very way of life in order to escape danger.She ends up at the Burning Cove Hotel, an exclusive resort-like spa in tiny Burning Cove, CA, where she's arrived to meet a source about a hot scoop. She's a reporter at a third rate gossip mag, chasing a hot lead on a huge scandal that may engulf the latest Hollywood it-boy. Unfortunately, she walks into a scene almost as grisly as the one she left in New York: her scoop is lying facedown in the swimming pool, surrounded by her own blood.Thus begins Anna's adventures. Now going by the name Irene Glasson, she is determined to find out who killed her connection - and if said killer had anything to do with the mysterious "accident" suffered by a fellow reporter at her gossip rag. She's practically scenting a huge story that could blow the lid off a promising, rising star - a star whose studio will do anything to keep him out of trouble.Oliver Ward is the manager of the Burning Cove hotel, and he isn't any happier to find out a guest has died than Irene is at discovering the body. They decide to pool their efforts to find the killer, and get sucked into a dark world of Hollywood scandal, espionage, and "cleanup crews." They are photographed together and splashed across the front page - Oliver being a former magician who quit the boards under mysterious circumstances - and attract the attention of the folks looking for that notebook, who are determined to take her out and abscond with the notebook themselves.I really enjoyed this book. It's fast-paced and well-written, with a great suspenseful mystery at the core. The characters are fun and likeable, and it's not always a certainty that the protagonists will win, or that the antagonists won't get the last laugh. There's an omni POV from various main and side characters, all of whom push the plot forward. The climax of the notebook strand of the story was absolutely first rate; the murder mystery was a little less so.The only downside was the romance. It was more or less instalust, spurred on by dangerous circumstances. It moved way too fast for my personal taste, and rang hollow in the end. I really enjoyed the 1930s setting, and the main location of small town adjacent to LA and Hollywood - enough to feel cozy, but connected to the wider world. This is a small town full of people who are hiding secrets of every sort, which is delicious. I'm looking forward to exploring more of this world in this series, and have a couple of characters that I'm looking forward to seeing pop up again!
    • 3/5
      Amanda Quick was a favorite author of my mother's, so when a friend recommended this series of hers, I thought I'd try it. Better than I expected, though not quite as genuine to the era as I'd hoped.
    • 2/5
      With a synopsis like this, I was expecting to see Hollywood glamour and pizzazz. Instead, I got a bland story. The mystery was an interesting idea but the writing style didn't really carry it. I didn't find myself interested in the interactions between Oliver and Irene, and there were times when the dialogue just bored me to tears. As I kept reading, it just felt as if the author was trying to infuse the novel with a kind of sleek allure... but for me, it just seemed to plod on. There was nothing that made this novel pop, there was no spark. So while the concept behind this story was interesting, the execution failed to make it a worthwhile read. I'm still going to try reading more books by this author; hopefully the next book I choose will be more suitable to my tastes!
    • 4/5
      Set in the 1930's, this was refreshing change from Krentz's paranormals. The characters were interesting and not as cookie-cutter as usual. What was usual was the villains explaining why they did what they did while they held the upper hand. However, the new setting with the the 30's and the movie business was interesting enough to offset the usual speechifying by the villains. The prose and dialog moved along smoothly and quickly which is one of Krentz's strengths. I plan to read the sequel.
    • 4/5
      DESCRIPTION, NOT REVIEW: Amanda Quick, the bestselling author of ’Til Death Do Us Part, transports readers to 1930s California, where glamour and seduction spawn a multitude of sins… When Hollywood moguls and stars want privacy, they head to an idyllic small town on the coast, where the exclusive Burning Cove Hotel caters to their every need. It’s where reporter Irene Glasson finds herself staring down at a beautiful actress at the bottom of a pool… The dead woman had a red-hot secret about up-and-coming leading man Nick Tremayne, a scoop that Irene couldn’t resist—especially since she’s just a rookie at a third-rate gossip rag. But now Irene’s investigation into the drowning threatens to tear down the wall of illusion that is so deftly built around the famous actor, and there are powerful men willing to do anything to protect their investment.  Seeking the truth, Irene finds herself drawn to a master of deception. Oliver Ward was once a world-famous magician—until he was mysteriously injured during his last performance. Now the owner of the Burning Cove Hotel, he can’t let scandal threaten his livelihood, even if it means trusting Irene, a woman who seems to have appeared in Los Angeles out of nowhere four months ago… With Oliver’s help, Irene soon learns that the glamorous paradise of Burning Cove hides dark and dangerous secrets. And that the past—always just out of sight—could drag them both under…
    • 5/5
      Set in the 1930s, this novel starts off with Anna Harris stumbling across the brutally murdered body of her employer, Helen at her home in the country where Helen had written the word "run" in blood on the wall. Anna goes to her room to pack her things and finds a notebook and a note with it saying that if Anna was reading this Helen had trusted the wrong man and that Anna was to not trust the FBI or anyone with this notebook, but that it might be used as a bargaining chip at some later date to help her. She leaves her the keys to the Packard and some cash to go along with what Anna had been saving.Something she hears at an autocamp gives her the idea to go to Los Angles to start a new life like so many others have. She could get lost in the shuffle. She changes her name to Irene Glasson and takes Route 66 west. This stumps the man who has been looking for her, Julian Enright from the law firm of Enright and Enright who are an old firm who do shady work. Julian is the cleanup man and the head of the firm's son. He also takes way too much enjoyment from his work. He has not given up on finding Anna. It's just a matter of time.Four months later Irene has been hired by the scandal rag Whispers and she is hot on a story about the actor Nick Tremayne. Gloria Maitland who is supposed to have been his unofficial girlfriend called her to come to the Burning Cove Hotel in Burning Cove, California to meet by the pool. When Irene got there she found Gloria face down in the pool and could hear someone nearby and had to make a run for it herself.Oliver Ward, the former famed magician whose last act ended with him crippled in one leg by bullets fired into it, is the owner of the Burning Cove Hotel and he knows that Irene will not let the story go so he wants her to work with him to try to find the killer. But Irene has trust issues especially after what happened to Helen. And Oliver himself has trust issues as well. But they both need to start trusting people again sometime. And with a killer on the loose as well as someone after Irene for the notebook which contains information about something complex and earth shattering, and the time is sooner rather than later. It will take some of Oliver's magic skills and Irene's quick thinking to get them out of this jam as the bodies start to pile up around them now and the trail of bodies from the past that led Irene to this story to begin with as she believes Tremayne is a murderer killing to hide something.This is not your typical Amanda Quick novel. It was quite a refreshing read and a new take on the 1930s crime drama/film noir type of story. You can almost see the hazy cigarette smoke in the air, though none of the main characters smoke, of course. You can hear the jazzy music playing and see the dancers. Taste all of the unique drinks of the time, like a Pink Lady. She really places you there. This was such a wonderful read. It kept me up half the night trying to finish it. I highly recommend it.Quotes It’s only a mistake if it kills you or you fail to learn from it. -Amanda Quick (The Girl Who Knew Too Much p 81) She saw the silhouette of Oliver’s gun. She fumbled with the catch of her handbag. Her fingers closed around the grip of the small pistol she kept inside. “I’ve got one, too,” she said. “Of course you do,” Oliver said. He sounded resigned. “Ever fired it?” “No. How hard could it be?” “You’d be surprised.” “There are bullets in it,” she said offended by his tone. “That helps.”-Amanda Quick (The Girl Who Knew Too Much p 158)“I believe you.” “Do you?” “Yes.” “Why?” “I have no idea—except that in some ways you remind me of someone I knew a long time ago. If he made a promise, you knew he’d keep it or go down trying.” “Yeah? Who was he?” “My grandfather.” “I’m a few years older than you, Irene, but I’m not that much older.” “Oh, for pity’s sake, I didn’t mean to imply that I thought you were elderly—just…reliable. Dependable. Trustworthy.” “Like a good dog?”-Amanda Quick (The Girl Who Knew Too Much p 138-9)
    • 4/5
      *I received a copy of this book from the publisher.*If you're looking for a quick, fun read with romance and suspense with a satisfying conclusion, this is the book for you. A murder mystery drives the plot and most the action, but the romance between Oliver and Irene provides a nice complement and I enjoyed the setting of 1930s California, complete with movie stars and luxurious hotels. While I doubt the writing will win many awards, it's fun, engaging, and fast-paced.
    • 4/5
      While I found most of it very interesting I didn't find the romance satisfied and the initial mystery was a bit easily resolved.
    • 4/5
      I don’t often read mysteries, so I had never encountered Amanda Quick/Jayne Castle/Jayne Anne Krentz before. But the book is set in early 1930s Hollywood and southern California, so I went for it. The story hits the ground running; Anna Harris comes home to find her employer murdered. The dead woman has used her own blood to write a warning “Run” on the wall. Anna takes her at her word, but when she grabs her own hidden savings, she finds extra money with it, a small notebook, and a letter from her employer, advising her to run as far as she could and become someone else on the way. A trip across the country on Route 66 and Anna turns into Irene, a reporter for a Hollywood tell-all paper. Then, when called to a clandestine meeting at the Burning Cove Hotel where she will supposedly be told a good story, she finds the informant dead. Thus begins another mystery for Irene, who feels she can trust no one. A serial killer is on the loose, one who may be after Irene. The two murder storylines run at the same time. A budding movie star who is a prime suspect, the owner/manager of the Burning Cove who was formerly a stage magician who was shot during his last act, the movie star’s gal Friday, an inventor/engineer, a sociopathic ‘fixer’ for his father’s firm; all interesting characters. As another reviewer has pointed out, Irene and the former magician make a sort of Nick and Nora couple who should be good for a series. This is not set in Hollywood but on the fringes of Hollywood life. The author is good at describing the clothing, the cars, and the settings of the early 30s. I give this book four stars out of five; I enjoyed it a lot, but the characters could have been more fleshed out. I’m hoping that this will turn into a series and that we’ll get to know the people better. While the local murder mysteries were tied up neatly, the murder of Irene’s former employer has left an opening for further intrigue that should be interesting.
    • 4/5
      The Girl Who Knew Too Much is a new novel by Amanda Quick. Ms. Quick takes us back to the 1930s. Anna Harris is checking on her employer, Helen Spencer and discovers her dead in her bedroom. On the wall written in blood is the word “run”. Anna heads to her room and pulls out the box where she stored her savings. Inside she finds a letter, a brown notebook and money that she did not put in the box. The letter is from Helen advising her to disappear. Four months later, Irene Glassen (aka Anna Harris) is on assignment in Burning Cove, California for The Whispers, a Hollywood gossip magazine. Irene is at The Burning Cove Hotel in the pool area for a late-night meeting with Gloria Maitland. Gloria told Irene that she had some juicy gossip on Nick Tremayne, an actor whose star is on the rise. Unfortunately, someone arrived before Irene, and Gloria is now floating face down in the pool. Irene hears someone else in the room and quickly escapes. Oliver Ward, former magician who owns the hotel, agrees to work with Irene to get answers. Oliver will tolerate many things, but murder is not one of them. They pair up to solve the case, but Gloria is just one in a line of victims tied to Nick Tremayne. Tremayne’s studio is not happy with Irene’s interest in their star and puts the pressure on to get her stopped. Meanwhile, the man who killed Helen Spencer has been hunting for Anna for the last four months. He wants the notebook back and will delightfully eliminate any one in his path. Ward is intrigued with Irene from the moment he laid eyes on her and will protect her at all costs—if she will let him. Will they make it through the week alive or will someone be writing their obituary?The Girl Who Knew Too Much grabbed my attention right away. This book is a departure from Amanda Quick’s normal historical paranormal novels. I found The Girl Who Knew Too Much to be nicely written and engaging. I thought the author did a good job at capturing the era and locale. The mysteries are complex (especially the one involving the brown notebook). I thought the Nick Tremayne storyline to be more intriguing and many readers will not be able to figure out the identity of the killer. I did think that the author tried to cram too much into one book (there was just one thing after another). I give The Girl Who Knew Too Much 4 out of 5 stars. There is, of course, the requisite romance (every book I read seems to have a romantic entanglement) between the main characters (a burning attraction). The story has a good ending and the author wrapped up all the various storylines (I especially loved a certain secretary’s ending). There are a couple of slow sections, but they are quickly gotten through. The Girl Who Knew Much is a good novel to read on a Saturday evening with a cool beverage.
    • 4/5
      A Good Old-Fashioned Mystery Coiled with SuspenseThis well-written tale will transport you to the seedier aspects of life on the fast track of making it to the top in Hollywood.Burning Cove Hotel is a great setting for Irene’s stubborn need to learn the whole truth while even putting her own life in danger. She also needs to give herself closure for the women who lost their lives. She shifts from gossip columnist to stealth investigator in a blink of an eye, determined to know the reasons why her mentor is dead. An accident as so many say or murder? The skills a good secretary has – efficient, organized, intelligent and determined to finish a project, help Irene surface to the top of a sinking ship. The same skills work well for Oliver Ward, owner of the Burning Cover Hotel and once world-renown magician. Irene’s association with Oliver proves to be exactly what she needs (as she is to him) to solve her latest mystery, and the very person who will save her neck—and surprisingly her heart.The energy, pace, intrigue and sleazy characters you meet will give you hours of entertainment and plenty of who dun’ it theories. Delve into the seedier side of Hollywood -- glamour can be only skin deep!Received an advanced copy from the publisher for a fair review
    • 5/5
      I give this a five of five stars. I love the suspense and the romance. Irene has secrets and is a reporter. She wants to uncover what is going on at the Burning Cove Hotel. Here is where she meets Oliver Ward and Nick Tremayne. There are many twists and turns throughout this story. I was very surprised at the end. I received an ebook copy from Firsttoread for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.
    • 4/5
      This book started out slow at first, but once Irene gets to Burning Cove, things really take off.Amazingly, this was the first book that I have read by this author, either by her real name or her pseudonym. I know I have several of hers on my shelf. Not sure how that could be true, but I checked it out. I thought the writing at first for her to have so many books was a little awkward. However, I soon got used to her style and it started to flow. Midway, I was enjoying it. By the end, I couldn't put the book down. There was so much going with so many suspects and plots.Very entertaining and I really liked it. I am deeply appreciative of Berkley Publishing for approving my request. And, I thank Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest unbiased review.
    • 4/5
      Irene Glasson came to California to escape her past and is now a reporter for a Hollywood tabloid. After coming across a dead body in the pool of a popular celebrity hotel, Irene teams up with the hotel's owner, Oliver Ward, to track down the killer. They soon discover that there might not be only one victim.What I liked about this book was there were two interesting plots. The reveal of the killer had me guessing up until the end. I also enjoyed the story line of "Irene's" past as Anna Harris catching up to her all the way in California. The author did a good job capturing "Old Hollywood" in the 1930s. Back when the studios had all the power to make or break you. If you like a good mystery and that time period than this book is definitely for you.Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group for sending me an ARC of this book. This review contains my honest opinions.
    • 5/5
      A Lightness of Spirit...Private secretary Anna Harris, finds her employer, a vibrant, globe-trotting, upper-class Eastern woman, murdered. And when she reads the message, “Run,” written in the dead woman’s blood, Anna does precisely that: she drives her yellow Packard on Route 66 to Los Angeles, California, where she begins a brand new life as Irene Glasson, reporter for Whisper, a Hollywood gossip rag.I liked Anna/Irene—she’s not intimidated by anyone, ever. She wears fashionable wide-legged trousers with filmy, feminine blouses, and carries a big purse containing among other things, her get-out-of-town money and a gun. I see Irene as Kathryn Hepburn-like: a smart, impudent, leggy woman who knows she only has herself to depend upon—and she’s good with that.Following up on a lead about an L.A. murder, Irene lands in Burning Cove, a small California coastal town geared to privacy, rest, and recreation for the Hollywood crowd and the startlingly rich who want to rub elbows (among other things) with movie stars. In Burning Cove, a second murder happens involving a handsome, self-obsessed leading-man movie star and a reclusive hotel owner who used to be an up-and-coming magician before his tragic accident. Further complications include a mysterious notebook that comes with a Trust No One warning, yet another murder, a fire, an inventor, a movie studio fixer, and a nightclub owner with mob connections. Oliver Ward is the ex-magician resort-hotel owner who protects the privacy and personal lives of his famous and wealthy guests. Oliver understands that his magic would never have been more than a carny act without the support of his assistants and the staff that organized his sets, his bookings, his costumes and props. When his life as a world-class magician abruptly ends, he offers his former staff opportunities to work at his new venture—an exclusive resort hotel north of Hollywood. Olive Ward respects people. He respects Irene. He’s the perfect hero for her. The Girl Who Knew Too Much is a classic Amanda Quick—intriguing people populating a well-heeled world ripe with details and dialogue that bring a time and place and milieu to bustling life. Add in a complex plot that will keep you guessing right to the end, and you have a perfect reading experience. I get the feeling Ms. Quick enjoyed writing this book. There’s a lightness of spirit that energizes every page. Brava!I received free access to the galley for this novel through the First to Read program.
    • 4/5
      Amanda Quick (Jayne Ann Krentz's pseudonym for historical romance) moves from Victorian England to 1930s Hollywood. An orphaned secretary, a murdered employer, a mysterious notebook, an injured magician turned hotelier, a movie star whose women friends have a habit of ending up dead, a stalker fan, and a contract killer who enjoys his work too much are the ingredients in this suspenseful romance. Unlike many of Krentz/Quick's novels, there is no paranormal/psychic element. But it doesn't need one. Perhaps because of the more modern setting, it reads more like a Krentz book than a Quick one.Recommended.