Deadly Grace

by Taylor Smith

384 pages Mira (December 1, 2001) English 1551668297 Product 9.6 x 6.5 x 1.5 inches A former international diplomat and intelligence analyst, Smith (Guilt by Silence) uses her experience"

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Historical Fiction, Suspense

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

After a career as an international diplomat and later an intelligence analyst, Taylor Smith turned her experience into bestselling fiction. Taylor currently lives in Southern California.

Reviews

[Marty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent page turner. Especially good if you like any type of WWII history with intrigue. Story is current with flash backs to Nazi occupied France.

[Asterix · Rating 5 out of 5]

I guess this will remain as one of my favorite books in this genre. A beautiful written book. Full of emotions from anger to love to hate and sorrow. And if you are into some war mysteries then this is a good book for you.

[Lynn Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aside from knowing that the author of this book was a former diplomat and intelligence analyst, I had no clue what to expect. While the book probably could have been a little shorter and more focused, what I got was a multilayered thriller that held my attention and made me think. Originally published in 2001, this book is set in 1979. While it's technically "historical," so much in this book reminded me that events that seem like ancient history to us are barely even in the past. As a preliminary matter, I definitely recommend reading this book, but don't read the whole cover blurb; it's laden with spoilers.

While there are a few hints of romance sprinkled throughout the story, there really is not much relationship development going on. This book is almost pure historical mystery/thriller. I very much enjoyed the leads. Jillian Meade and Alex Cruz both have fairly well-developed careers and lives and instead of being 20-something prodigies as I often encounter in romance, both are in their mid/late 30s.

Alex is a Vietnam vet who went on to spend many years in the Army. As the book opens, he has only recently transitioned to civilian service in the FBI. His portfolio includes working cooperatively with foreign law enforcement on requests that are mostly pretty routine. This time around, he has a request from the UK to interview an American museum curator who was known to have visited a couple of elderly women found murdered in their homes in England. The Smithsonian curator, Jillian Meade, doesn't appear to be a suspect, so Alex figures he is setting off on something fairly routine.

When he arrives in Minnesota to see Jillian, he learns that Jillian's own mother was recently killed under circumstances very similar to those of the British women. Jillian is hospitalized in a psychiatric unit, and she isn't talking. Needless to say, all of this gets Alex asking lots of questions. This got my attention right away,and my suspicious mind started turning over all the pieces.

A large chunk of the book is told in dual narratives. Jillian's doctor gives her a journal to record her thoughts, and several chapters are told via Jillian recounting what happened to lead her to her current predicament. The rest of the book follows Alex on his own investigation. Both threads of plot are fascinating reads, and the points where everything intersects were very well-done.

I don't want to spoil the plot, so I'll simply say that the investigations lead the characters back into the French Resistance during World War II. There are secrets and treachery woven throughout the plot and while the book does drag a bit in the middle, the various layers of plot are mostly handled well. The author shows the links between the past and the 1979 "present" without being heavy-handed about it. In addition, I liked her choice to set the book when she did. Unlike what would be the case for a book set in the present, the Seventies would have been a time when World War II was fading into the distance, and yet many of the people who lived through the war would still be alive and active - and possibly hiding some deeply disturbing secrets.

Because of what the lead characters discover about themselves and the WWII actions of some of the characters in this book, I found this a more emotionally intense read than some of the thrillers I have read. I have to admit that I also had very conflicted feelings about the ultimate killer in the story. While I condemned the person's actions, I also felt a great deal of sympathy for that person had been through and that person's ultimate end saddened me. Parts of this book are well done, but I have to admit that the overall effect left me somewhat unsettled.

One last thing: While this book does explore various moral gray areas, the Nazis mentioned in this novel are always unequivocally the bad guys. I know for most readers this assumption would go without saying, but then again, I've seen some of what's out there.

CW - Violence, discussions of mental health conditions and portrayals of psychiatric units that may be triggering for some, references to sexual assault and human trafficking, discussions of the Holocaust and Nazi atrocities in occupied France

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it enough to read more books by her. A mystery involving FBI agent Cruz and Smithsonian Museum employee, Jillian Meade - Grace Meade, Jillian's mother is murdered and Jillian is suspect in the eyes of Cruz when he first arrives in a small Minnesota town- Havenwood. Solving the murder (s) requires delving into the events of Jillian's mothers life during WWII and the death of Jillian's father in France before her birth. I liked the character development as the story developed.

[☺Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deadly Grace by Taylor Smith is an excellent and enthralling historical thriller/murder mystery filled with plot twists and turns with a thoroughly intriguing and ultimately satisfying ending. I plan to seek out more books written by Ms. Smith and soon.

[Dee · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5. Interesting premise/topic. However, the writing wasn't my favorite. Lots of unneccessary descriptions (and not evocative in any way, just very banal extra information), repeated statements/information. The hints just kept being blatantly dropped slowly but surely throughout the story so that nothing came as being especially surprising. Even the ones that were left with what seemed to be the intention of being "suspenseful" with the response later were just super obvious. For such a long novel, I was expecting a big twist at the end, but it was the twist I guessed ~150 pages prior, so the end felt a bit lackluster. There were also a ton of typos, which drove me nuts; shabby editing job. It was okay for a one time read, but I would not read it again.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. I almost gave up early on because the exciting beginning suddenly changed to a journal. From that point, every other chapter was the first person ramblings of Jillian Meade, whose mother has been killed. FBI agent Alex Cruz is already on Jillian's trail because two other women recently died under similar circumstances, soon after their having been visited by Jillian. I would have liked this book much better had the backstory of Grace Meade been told in 3rd person. The journal was pointless, as anyone who reads mysteries regularly would know by the end of the first chapter. So I skimmed the journal and enjoyed Cruz's investigation and his experiences in the cold Minnesota winter.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Published in 2001. I read this one back-to-back with another book by this author.

In 1979, the story begins with a house fire and a police officer trying to rescue victims. He doesn't realize that Grace Meade is already dead after being shot. Her daughter Jillian struggles with him to go back into the fire as she does not want to live. Does this mean she killed her mother? FBI agent Alex Cruz will get into the investigation much to the chagrin of the locals. I always like to see the FBI take on a case.

The mystery was complex but the journal part of the story, which is Jillian's writings, moved a little slowly for me. The parts about Nazis is not my cup of tea.

[Anitaleest · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wat een geweldig boek! Ik had het al een jaar in de kast staan en pakte iedere keer toch weer naar een ander boek. Als ik had geweten dat het zo goed was, dan was het al lang uit geweest. Dat komt, denk ik, omdat het er aan de buitenkant uitziet als een doorsnee thriller maar dat is het absoluut niet. Het boek is een soort van combinatie tussen "Haar naam was Sarah" van Tatiana de Rosnay en "Oorlogskind" van Camilla Lackberg. Een echte aanrader!!

[Mrs Margaret Bray · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the frozen lakes of Minnesota to the horrors of the Holocaust.

This book combines mystery, murder and muddled identities in a suspenseful mix centering on two intriguing people Jillian and Alex

[Emily Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great page turner!

[Juanita Bland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Page turner with some history.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story, but parts of it just dragged out. Would have given it a 4.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very intriguing! I liked the story a lot, but there were quite a few typos that drove me a little crazy.

[Sandra Jackson - Alawine · Rating 2 out of 5]

When Jillian returns home to confront Grace about her past she discovers more than she bargained for.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book

[Lizzie O · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book generally a good read but in places it felt a bit clunky and over-descriptive.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read. Full of suspense and little bit of predictability in it which is what I usually like. It has a lot of real facts in it so it is a good read for those who love to revisit historical facts about world war II. Grace Meade a beautiful Franco British woman who was part of the under ground French resistance during the war found herself after the war in America under murky circumstances raising a daughter who was claimed by her to be fathered by an American with whose parents she now resides. Then one night she was brutally murdered and her house torched to the ground. This was triggered unintentionally by her daughter Jillian who was researching world war II records for an exhibition only for the research to turn into a personal probe into her own mother's past. Her death brings to light all that she was hiding. That instead of being a war heroine she was in fact the opposite. A traitor who was living a fraudulent life.

[DAISY READS HORROR · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deadly Grace was a great suspensful read. I loved the historical part of the story and how it was entwined with the "present time" of the book. I was not expecting the ending to be how it was. The author threw me in a loop-hole and I was surprised in a good way. Grace's mysterious life was intriguing and I can't help but wonder if this could be a true story.

War time with Nazi soldiers was horrific and I am sure some parts about women giving themselves to men for more rations was something that really happened. I felt bad for Jillian, even after all she went through to find the answers to her life puzzle she so desperately seeked. I also enjoyed the small Minnesota town. Something about all of this taking place in a snowy January made it a cozy read for me too.

[Florence Primrose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jillian Moore, a Smithsonian historian, goes to Europe to in investigate a work project and also lto look into her background. Her mother had worked as an OSS undercover agent with the French Resistance and came to America as the widow of an American flyer with his young daughter to live with her in-laws in a small town in Minnesota. Alex Cruz, an F.B.I. Agent, is asked by Scotland Yard to nvestigate two deaths in England. The only connection by the murdered women was that Jillian Moore had recently met with them. Alex goes to Mnnesota to,interview Jillian and finds many questions.

This was an excellent story with lots of twists and turns.

[Sherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing story with political history interwoven through journal entries of Jillian Meade, who sets out on a mission to discover her mother's past from World War II but discovers much more than she wants to know and causes ripples that end up not only with her mother's death but also the deaths of two other women.

[Stephanie Tuell · Rating 2 out of 5]

it wasn't as good as i thought it would be. maybe it's because i'm not really into politics or history. it was a slow read until the end, the it got interesting to find out who jillian meade really was.

[Joni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good murder/mystery story with an unexpected twist at the end.

[Angie crosby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent. The plot started out nice but then got boring. Although I liked the journal entries, switching between that and the rest of the book was jarring.

[Donna Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

A page turner for me. Loved the characters. Want to read more of her books.

[Quita · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book.
The author is a coworker and I was delighted to find that she is an excellent and entertaining writer as well as a great person.

[Kristi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story! Plenty of intrigue and twists that leave you guessing. I had a hard time putting this book away when I had to.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great combination of your mystery story with some historical fiction. There was a plot that kept you reading until the end.

[Evelyn Mattice · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has to be one of my favorite books. It combines history with a most wonderful mystery to unravel. It has romance, spies, twists and an ending that will shock you.

[Sharon Burgin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fact that I read it in less than 3 days says it all. Totally engaging.