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In Service #2
Forever In Your Service
A heartbroken butler. A dead spy. A randy little dog.
Reproduction wines, counterfeit handbags, forged art, and sham relationships trap Mae in a web of phonies, frauds, and liars—with Kitt the greatest charlatan of them all.
Spies come back from the dead in movies and books, but this isn't film or fiction. Mae isn't sure what to believe after a spy loves says, 'I love you,' and everything, including her own life, is nothing but a ruse.
Reproduction wines, counterfeit handbags, forged art, and sham relationships trap Mae in a web of phonies, frauds, and liars—with Kitt the greatest charlatan of them all.
Spies come back from the dead in movies and books, but this isn't film or fiction. Mae isn't sure what to believe after a spy loves says, 'I love you,' and everything, including her own life, is nothing but a ruse.
344 pages, Paperback
First published March 29, 2019
22 people are currently reading
59 people want to read
About the author
Sandra Antonelli
10 books64 followersSandra is the author of romantic suspense and romantic comedies featuring 'seasoned' characters who have four decades or more of life experience. Firmly believing foxy doesn't end at forty, her novels place women over the age of 40 as capable heroines, as lead characters, not as stereotypes.
Her books have twice been nominated for Australian Romance Readers Association awards.
Her books have twice been nominated for Australian Romance Readers Association awards.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
May 30, 2019
I've given this a B+ at AAR, so that's 4.5 stars
Says Mae Valentine, who doesn’t seem able to perform her duties as butler these days without ending up embroiled in something unsavory.
Forever in Your Service is the sequel to the terrific At Your Service, in which we first met Mae and her employer, a former army major who, she believed, worked as a Risk Assessment Specialist for a company called The Consortium. This job often took him to dangerous places and put him into dangerous situations; it wasn’t unusual for him to appear at breakfast looking battered and bruised, but he didn’t tell and Mae didn’t ask. The truth began to emerge when Mae inadvertently became mixed up in an international money-laundering ring – and it became clear that “Risk Assessment Specialist” was code for “spy” and that “The Consortium” was the British Government.
Forever in Your Service opens a few months after the events of the first book, and although Mae and Kitt are a couple now, their living and employment arrangements – he still rents his flat from her, she still works as his butler – haven’t changed. The affectionate snark that characterised their relationship is still very much in evidence, but it’s clear that Mae is still processing the events of the summer, during which she’d killed two men (in self-defence) and discovered that the man she’d married years before hadn’t been the man she thought he was. Kitt continues his work and continues to come home looking the worse for wear – and Mae can’t help worrying if each time he leaves ‘for work’ will be the time he doesn’t come back. Having spent well over a decade loving one dead man – her late husband – she can’t bear the thought of doing the same thing all over again for Kitt.
Until she has to.
Mae, heartbroken but being steadfastly productive (her preferred method of coping with shock and grief), has relocated to just outside Los Alamos, New Mexico, where she works for Dr. Julius Tattinger, a connoisseur and collector of fine wine and fine art. She’s presently preparing Tattinger’s home for the arrival of a number of guests who will be staying there over New Year’s, specifically to taste, buy and sell rare wines, and raise money for the humanitarian charities Tattinger passionately supports. But she’s also there because Tattinger is suspected of fraudulent practices and counterfeiting wine – and Mae took the assignment offered her after Kitt’s death, to observe Tattinger for a year and report her findings to British Intelligence.
The disparate group of guests arrives, all obscenely wealthy (some obscenely obnoxious), one of whom reminds Mae just a tiny bit of Kitt when he smiles – although that’s not surprising, as Mae sees Kitt everywhere; he’s the postman, the barista, he’s even Tattinger when he shuffles into the kitchen. After an afternoon spent tasting and playing games of one-upmanship over the various wines they’ve brought, the party swings into gear, Mae taking careful note of the proceedings with a professional eye as to the catering and who is talking about what to whom. When Tattinger’s dog wreaks havoc in the kitchen and promptly escapes the house, Mae (who is fonder of the dog than she is of its master) heads out into the snow to find him – and finds the dead body of Mr. Grant – the butler who had accompanied one of the guests – instead.
The plot thickens fast from here on in, sometimes at dizzying speed, as discovery upon discovery unearths a very real threat to Mae’s life, a complex web of lies and deceit – and a far bigger network of betrayal and corruption than she could ever have envisaged.
I always take care not to say much about the plot when reviewing suspense novels, but there’s a development in this one that, while it may seem obvious, might be too much of a spoiler for some, so if you don’t want to know, then stop reading now.
Given that we learn of Kitt’s death at the end of the opening chapter, it can’t come as too much of a surprise to learn that he isn’t dead after all – there would be no book were that the case! That said however, even though we romance readers know there’s an HEA (or HFN) on the cards, the author presents Mae’s grief and anger in such an incredibly visceral way that I found myself tearing up a few times. She’s furious with Kitt for dying, but more furious with herself for loving him and letting herself believe, even for just a little while, that they could have made a life together. When he turns up alive and well (mostly) at Tattinger’s house, she’s even more furious, her grief and anger augmented by intense feelings of betrayal.
Kitt is obviously desperately in love with Mae and fearful he’s lost her for good. He knows all too well that the demands of his job makes anything but the sort of fleeting relationships he’s had before impossible, but he wants forever with Mae – if only he can find a way to convince her that the risks are worth it. Mae is just as far gone for Kitt, but has to decide if she’s prepared to deal with the way his unpredictable brand of chaos will impinge on her practical, orderly life. And while they’re both struggling to come to terms with what ‘forever’ might mean for them, they once again find themselves playing a dangerous game that may well curtail it anyway. Kitt is sure, from the moment he finds Mae in New Mexico, that whatever is going on is tied to his last mission somehow, the one in which he was on the trail of an international smuggling ring and which really did almost kill him. The way Kitt and Mae work to piece things together is really well-done and lovely to read; they’re wonderfully in sync, and as was the case in the previous book, their bantering dialogue is fabulously dry and perfectly pitched. I loved all the in-jokes and nods to genre fiction – both spy stories and romance (gotta love a heroine who gives her man a copy of Flowers from the Storm to read – and a hero who’s already read it!) – and the way the author pokes gentle fun at her own story:
“With a murder in a cosy mystery such as this, on a country estate such as this, suspicion always falls on the domestic help, such as the butler.”
“This is not a cosy mystery. It’s a somewhat gritty cosy romantic spy thriller that tries hard to be amusing.”
On the negative side, there are a lot of secondary characters and I sometimes had trouble keeping track of all of them; and although I like a complex plot, this one sometimes twisted and turned at such an alarming rate that I had to backtrack a few times to make sure I’d understood what was going on!
If you haven’t already read At Your Service, I’d strongly recommend doing so before tackling this one, as you’ll gain a deeper understanding of Mae and Kitt, and the way that who they are informs their relationship. None of the criticisms I’ve levelled above in any way spoiled my enjoyment of this “gritty cosy romantic spy thriller” that succeeds in being amusing, gripping, sexy and poignant. Forever in Your Service is a great read, and I’m looking forward to the next instalment in the In Service trilogy.
“A lavish party at a country estate, men in dinner suits, women in finery, fine wine, fine art, fine music, fine murder, and a little dog – it all feels so very Agatha Christie.”
Says Mae Valentine, who doesn’t seem able to perform her duties as butler these days without ending up embroiled in something unsavory.
Forever in Your Service is the sequel to the terrific At Your Service, in which we first met Mae and her employer, a former army major who, she believed, worked as a Risk Assessment Specialist for a company called The Consortium. This job often took him to dangerous places and put him into dangerous situations; it wasn’t unusual for him to appear at breakfast looking battered and bruised, but he didn’t tell and Mae didn’t ask. The truth began to emerge when Mae inadvertently became mixed up in an international money-laundering ring – and it became clear that “Risk Assessment Specialist” was code for “spy” and that “The Consortium” was the British Government.
Forever in Your Service opens a few months after the events of the first book, and although Mae and Kitt are a couple now, their living and employment arrangements – he still rents his flat from her, she still works as his butler – haven’t changed. The affectionate snark that characterised their relationship is still very much in evidence, but it’s clear that Mae is still processing the events of the summer, during which she’d killed two men (in self-defence) and discovered that the man she’d married years before hadn’t been the man she thought he was. Kitt continues his work and continues to come home looking the worse for wear – and Mae can’t help worrying if each time he leaves ‘for work’ will be the time he doesn’t come back. Having spent well over a decade loving one dead man – her late husband – she can’t bear the thought of doing the same thing all over again for Kitt.
Until she has to.
Mae, heartbroken but being steadfastly productive (her preferred method of coping with shock and grief), has relocated to just outside Los Alamos, New Mexico, where she works for Dr. Julius Tattinger, a connoisseur and collector of fine wine and fine art. She’s presently preparing Tattinger’s home for the arrival of a number of guests who will be staying there over New Year’s, specifically to taste, buy and sell rare wines, and raise money for the humanitarian charities Tattinger passionately supports. But she’s also there because Tattinger is suspected of fraudulent practices and counterfeiting wine – and Mae took the assignment offered her after Kitt’s death, to observe Tattinger for a year and report her findings to British Intelligence.
The disparate group of guests arrives, all obscenely wealthy (some obscenely obnoxious), one of whom reminds Mae just a tiny bit of Kitt when he smiles – although that’s not surprising, as Mae sees Kitt everywhere; he’s the postman, the barista, he’s even Tattinger when he shuffles into the kitchen. After an afternoon spent tasting and playing games of one-upmanship over the various wines they’ve brought, the party swings into gear, Mae taking careful note of the proceedings with a professional eye as to the catering and who is talking about what to whom. When Tattinger’s dog wreaks havoc in the kitchen and promptly escapes the house, Mae (who is fonder of the dog than she is of its master) heads out into the snow to find him – and finds the dead body of Mr. Grant – the butler who had accompanied one of the guests – instead.
The plot thickens fast from here on in, sometimes at dizzying speed, as discovery upon discovery unearths a very real threat to Mae’s life, a complex web of lies and deceit – and a far bigger network of betrayal and corruption than she could ever have envisaged.
I always take care not to say much about the plot when reviewing suspense novels, but there’s a development in this one that, while it may seem obvious, might be too much of a spoiler for some, so if you don’t want to know, then stop reading now.
Given that we learn of Kitt’s death at the end of the opening chapter, it can’t come as too much of a surprise to learn that he isn’t dead after all – there would be no book were that the case! That said however, even though we romance readers know there’s an HEA (or HFN) on the cards, the author presents Mae’s grief and anger in such an incredibly visceral way that I found myself tearing up a few times. She’s furious with Kitt for dying, but more furious with herself for loving him and letting herself believe, even for just a little while, that they could have made a life together. When he turns up alive and well (mostly) at Tattinger’s house, she’s even more furious, her grief and anger augmented by intense feelings of betrayal.
Kitt is obviously desperately in love with Mae and fearful he’s lost her for good. He knows all too well that the demands of his job makes anything but the sort of fleeting relationships he’s had before impossible, but he wants forever with Mae – if only he can find a way to convince her that the risks are worth it. Mae is just as far gone for Kitt, but has to decide if she’s prepared to deal with the way his unpredictable brand of chaos will impinge on her practical, orderly life. And while they’re both struggling to come to terms with what ‘forever’ might mean for them, they once again find themselves playing a dangerous game that may well curtail it anyway. Kitt is sure, from the moment he finds Mae in New Mexico, that whatever is going on is tied to his last mission somehow, the one in which he was on the trail of an international smuggling ring and which really did almost kill him. The way Kitt and Mae work to piece things together is really well-done and lovely to read; they’re wonderfully in sync, and as was the case in the previous book, their bantering dialogue is fabulously dry and perfectly pitched. I loved all the in-jokes and nods to genre fiction – both spy stories and romance (gotta love a heroine who gives her man a copy of Flowers from the Storm to read – and a hero who’s already read it!) – and the way the author pokes gentle fun at her own story:
“With a murder in a cosy mystery such as this, on a country estate such as this, suspicion always falls on the domestic help, such as the butler.”
“This is not a cosy mystery. It’s a somewhat gritty cosy romantic spy thriller that tries hard to be amusing.”
On the negative side, there are a lot of secondary characters and I sometimes had trouble keeping track of all of them; and although I like a complex plot, this one sometimes twisted and turned at such an alarming rate that I had to backtrack a few times to make sure I’d understood what was going on!
If you haven’t already read At Your Service, I’d strongly recommend doing so before tackling this one, as you’ll gain a deeper understanding of Mae and Kitt, and the way that who they are informs their relationship. None of the criticisms I’ve levelled above in any way spoiled my enjoyment of this “gritty cosy romantic spy thriller” that succeeds in being amusing, gripping, sexy and poignant. Forever in Your Service is a great read, and I’m looking forward to the next instalment in the In Service trilogy.
April 11, 2019
Mae Valentine, the fabulous heroine of Forever in Your Service, offers the most cogent line to sum up Sandra Antonelli's In Service series when she tells Kitt, "your entire profession is built on euphemisms, inconsequence, and worn-out stereotypes." It's not just the spy genre, however, in need of a new paradigm, for romance writing too greatly benefits from Antonelli's rethinking of what it means to be a sexy hero and heroine in a romance novel, much less how greatly the spy genre needs fresh conventions to challenge the staid ways of the past. I think readers can certainly read and enjoy this book for the sheer thrill of an intricate and exciting mystery populated by fascinating, compelling, and romantic characters, but more than half the fun of reading this series lies in the upending of worn-out stereotypes.
As with the first stories in the series, Mae is as pragmatic and professional as always, even in the face of tragedy, such as the apparent sudden death of her beloved partner, spymaster Hamish Kitt, at the start of the book. Mae though is so much more than an inverted stereotype of a hero because she also is permitted to be full of contradictions. She desperately wants to put order to chaos - a trying task when one is in love with a spy whose life is defined by chaos. On the other hand, she reflects quite a bit in this book on her ambiguous feelings about killing and acknowledges, a bit to her dismay, that she kind of likes killing bad people and she gets an adrenaline rush being a part of Kitt's world. It draws her closer to him and helps her understand the man she deeply loves. Though violence and murder underscore Kitt's precarious existence, it is a undeniable aspect of him and therefore, their romance demands that Mae comes to terms with it if she is to be his partner in life.
Kitt is as hard-nosed, conniving, and ruthless as any field officer could be in a spy novel, but like Mae, he's not easily reduced to an alpha hero stereotype. He is quite frequently the more sensitive and emotional of the two, fairly easily reduced to tears at the thought of losing Mae, and as with the first book, rather easily prone to vomiting when Mae's life is at risk. Like Mae, he too struggles with contradictory desires. He wants the heroic life of a spy for all sorts of aspirational social justice reasons. (Some of the most amusing moments in the book occur when Kitt pontificates on his role in facilitating world peace, and Mae struggles to keep a straight face.) Kitt though also dreams of a bucolic life where he and Mae live happily ever after together, possibly with or without a dog. There is much push and pull between them and internally within them over how to reconcile the challenges they are facing now that they are a couple. And there are many unanswered questions in this book with respect to how or even if they will be able to resolve the dilemma of their personal motivations and current lifestyles. Ageism and sexiness are but just one of the key stereotypes this series counters. Given what I've read of this series though, I have no doubt that Antonelli will bring these ideas to a satisfactory conclusion.
The mystery here is intricate and intense, and there are moments when the harm that can come to main characters feels truly frightening. There are also lovely moments of intense feelings between the main characters as Mae and Kitt work through the sophomore stage of their romance. I feel assured in stating that this novel does manage to be the "romantic suspense gritty cosy spy thriller mystery" it declares itself as. I am very thankful that a third and final book in this terrific series is coming next year.
As with the first stories in the series, Mae is as pragmatic and professional as always, even in the face of tragedy, such as the apparent sudden death of her beloved partner, spymaster Hamish Kitt, at the start of the book. Mae though is so much more than an inverted stereotype of a hero because she also is permitted to be full of contradictions. She desperately wants to put order to chaos - a trying task when one is in love with a spy whose life is defined by chaos. On the other hand, she reflects quite a bit in this book on her ambiguous feelings about killing and acknowledges, a bit to her dismay, that she kind of likes killing bad people and she gets an adrenaline rush being a part of Kitt's world. It draws her closer to him and helps her understand the man she deeply loves. Though violence and murder underscore Kitt's precarious existence, it is a undeniable aspect of him and therefore, their romance demands that Mae comes to terms with it if she is to be his partner in life.
Kitt is as hard-nosed, conniving, and ruthless as any field officer could be in a spy novel, but like Mae, he's not easily reduced to an alpha hero stereotype. He is quite frequently the more sensitive and emotional of the two, fairly easily reduced to tears at the thought of losing Mae, and as with the first book, rather easily prone to vomiting when Mae's life is at risk. Like Mae, he too struggles with contradictory desires. He wants the heroic life of a spy for all sorts of aspirational social justice reasons. (Some of the most amusing moments in the book occur when Kitt pontificates on his role in facilitating world peace, and Mae struggles to keep a straight face.) Kitt though also dreams of a bucolic life where he and Mae live happily ever after together, possibly with or without a dog. There is much push and pull between them and internally within them over how to reconcile the challenges they are facing now that they are a couple. And there are many unanswered questions in this book with respect to how or even if they will be able to resolve the dilemma of their personal motivations and current lifestyles. Ageism and sexiness are but just one of the key stereotypes this series counters. Given what I've read of this series though, I have no doubt that Antonelli will bring these ideas to a satisfactory conclusion.
The mystery here is intricate and intense, and there are moments when the harm that can come to main characters feels truly frightening. There are also lovely moments of intense feelings between the main characters as Mae and Kitt work through the sophomore stage of their romance. I feel assured in stating that this novel does manage to be the "romantic suspense gritty cosy spy thriller mystery" it declares itself as. I am very thankful that a third and final book in this terrific series is coming next year.
May 1, 2020
I liked this book better than the first, mostly because I didn't have to deal with the H's manwhore past. There is not much I can say about the plot for fear of giving away too much. The story was tight, the plot mostly cohesive, and the h sticks her nose in another investigation. Again, the violence in this book was pretty high, lots of beatings, death and killing.
I did enjoy this book, but I think I'll leave the series here.
Big spoiler (that's not really a spoiler)
I did enjoy this book, but I think I'll leave the series here.
Big spoiler (that's not really a spoiler)
March 26, 2019
I loved this every bit as much as Mae and Kitt in At Your Service (In Service #1), and possibly even a little bit more!
It's really cleverly written. The beginning had me thinking the unthinkable for chapters and chapters...
I thought the plot was intricate, but held together well through the twists and turns. I continued to love the interaction and dialogue through all the characters, but Mae is the real star of this one. (And the randy dog. He's cool too).
It's really cleverly written. The beginning had me thinking the unthinkable for chapters and chapters...
I thought the plot was intricate, but held together well through the twists and turns. I continued to love the interaction and dialogue through all the characters, but Mae is the real star of this one. (And the randy dog. He's cool too).
April 24, 2019
Surprisingly emotional, at times slightly tedious, and an excellent portrayal of an odd but very adult relationship.
This one hurt in the beginning. And it hurt in the middle. I put it down to read another book. I’m swamped with work - which generally leads to me just wanting to read easy. And this was anything but.
Still, this series is brilliant. There are a dozen things unsaid - between the lines - each time Mae and Kitt so much as breathe the same air. They are each such strong characters. Even with an author who flutters lightly over physical description these two are as real to me as if we all went out to dinner.
I never knew what was going to happen next. Or how it was going to end. And while I won’t say I found the end satisfying I did find it right for these two.
I could probably read 4 or 5 more books about Kitt and Mae. They are unlike any couple I’ve previously read.
This one hurt in the beginning. And it hurt in the middle. I put it down to read another book. I’m swamped with work - which generally leads to me just wanting to read easy. And this was anything but.
Still, this series is brilliant. There are a dozen things unsaid - between the lines - each time Mae and Kitt so much as breathe the same air. They are each such strong characters. Even with an author who flutters lightly over physical description these two are as real to me as if we all went out to dinner.
I never knew what was going to happen next. Or how it was going to end. And while I won’t say I found the end satisfying I did find it right for these two.
I could probably read 4 or 5 more books about Kitt and Mae. They are unlike any couple I’ve previously read.
November 18, 2019
So. Much. Angst. Too much for me. Much less humor than the first one, and while lots of relationship time, not much actual romance. The ending is HFN. If you are in the mood for angst, this is the book for you. I do recommend starting with book one.
December 3, 2020
Still perfectly charming, great mystery, excellent characters. There were only a few minor things that took me out of the narrative. On the one hand, I really enjoyed the conflict between the two main characters, it was messy and not easily swept under the rug, on the other hand, there were times when I wasn't sure why they were still fighting. Still, I can't wait to read the next one
March 25, 2019
Forever at Your Service is second in this seductive suspense series. An elite British spy falls inconveniently, irreparably in love with a woman he'd thought was just his butler. It's steamy, scary and sexy. Edgier than a Nick and Nora film, more romance than James Bond, and more poignant than most action tales. These are seasoned characters, both at an age where work and career are their priorities, neither expecting the intrusion of romance in their lives. Now they bring to bear a lifetime of sensuality as they discover one another.
When we first met secret agent Major Kitt and master butler Mae Valentine, they were comfortably matched as employer and exceptional employee. Mae never blinked at the Major's glamorous overnight guests or the injuries he sustained in adventures unspoken of. Clueless Kitt didn't realize that Mae was his lodestar, the heart of his life, until a near disaster of Mae’s own.
Book 2 finds Major Kitt the victim of home-team betrayal with no haven safe. While both struggle to stay alive, Kitt must convince the ever independent Mae that he's worth a lifetime's trust. A switcheroo for the action hero, and he's as dazed as he is in smitten. It’s gut level romance:
I do love your Chelsea buns, Mrs. Valentine, almost as much as I love your scrambled eggs. Now that I think about it, I confess I fell in love with your baked goods before I fell in love with you, although, if I am honest, those two things did happen within seconds of each other.
Though Mae endures heartbreak, she is a force of nature, sexy, determined, and no one’s pushover. As they prepare to enact a dangerous charade, a piqued Kitt asks, “You think I am a ham?” Mae replies, “No. You’re the entire pig, sir.”
Forever at Your Service unwinds at a wealthy art collector’s house party set in beautiful New Mexico. There’s a vivid array of guests fit to grace an Agatha Christie plot. But who can you trust? Who can you love? Who will survive the week?
Antonelli is a "Can't Put It Down" kind of author. When the characters separated by treachery reconnect, everything goes wrong. Even Mae’s cool demeanor disappears when she’s pushed too far, releasing her furious Irish brogue. There are twists of identity, appalling villains, harrowing escapes, and love scenes so urgent that lovers can’t manage to shed their clothes. There is depth here too. Why does a person accept the danger and injury of being a spy? Is it too risky to let yourself love someone who keeps leaving, never certain of coming back? But then is it tolerable to choose safety over love? Antonelli’s books are full course meals. Devour them for the thrill or savor them for their subtlety and substance. All at high velocity of course.
When we first met secret agent Major Kitt and master butler Mae Valentine, they were comfortably matched as employer and exceptional employee. Mae never blinked at the Major's glamorous overnight guests or the injuries he sustained in adventures unspoken of. Clueless Kitt didn't realize that Mae was his lodestar, the heart of his life, until a near disaster of Mae’s own.
Book 2 finds Major Kitt the victim of home-team betrayal with no haven safe. While both struggle to stay alive, Kitt must convince the ever independent Mae that he's worth a lifetime's trust. A switcheroo for the action hero, and he's as dazed as he is in smitten. It’s gut level romance:
I do love your Chelsea buns, Mrs. Valentine, almost as much as I love your scrambled eggs. Now that I think about it, I confess I fell in love with your baked goods before I fell in love with you, although, if I am honest, those two things did happen within seconds of each other.
Though Mae endures heartbreak, she is a force of nature, sexy, determined, and no one’s pushover. As they prepare to enact a dangerous charade, a piqued Kitt asks, “You think I am a ham?” Mae replies, “No. You’re the entire pig, sir.”
Forever at Your Service unwinds at a wealthy art collector’s house party set in beautiful New Mexico. There’s a vivid array of guests fit to grace an Agatha Christie plot. But who can you trust? Who can you love? Who will survive the week?
Antonelli is a "Can't Put It Down" kind of author. When the characters separated by treachery reconnect, everything goes wrong. Even Mae’s cool demeanor disappears when she’s pushed too far, releasing her furious Irish brogue. There are twists of identity, appalling villains, harrowing escapes, and love scenes so urgent that lovers can’t manage to shed their clothes. There is depth here too. Why does a person accept the danger and injury of being a spy? Is it too risky to let yourself love someone who keeps leaving, never certain of coming back? But then is it tolerable to choose safety over love? Antonelli’s books are full course meals. Devour them for the thrill or savor them for their subtlety and substance. All at high velocity of course.
April 8, 2019
4 stars
A great follow-up to book one, Forever In Your Service serves up an Agatha Christie-type mystery involving a wine collecting millennial whose weekend party goes a bit awry when the bodies start to pile up. Mae is her usual acerbic, professional self and wholly capable of handling whatever comes her way. Even when it’s a ghost who turns out to be more corporeal than expected.
As I was reading this, I was once again struck by how unusual it is to come across characters like Mae and Kitt. Never mind the fact that Mae is the older of the two, she often comes across as the stronger one. Not invincible or unbelievable, just a mature woman with the life experience and the level-headedness to deal with new and unexpected situations. That Kitt is sometimes both exasperated and excited by that, just makes me love him as much as I love Mae.
The mystery got a little convoluted at the end, but I was much less interested in the details of that, than I was in how things would end up between Mae and Kitt. I have my priorities, okay? Thankfully, I was happy with the outcome and happier still there is a book three to come.
A great follow-up to book one, Forever In Your Service serves up an Agatha Christie-type mystery involving a wine collecting millennial whose weekend party goes a bit awry when the bodies start to pile up. Mae is her usual acerbic, professional self and wholly capable of handling whatever comes her way. Even when it’s a ghost who turns out to be more corporeal than expected.
As I was reading this, I was once again struck by how unusual it is to come across characters like Mae and Kitt. Never mind the fact that Mae is the older of the two, she often comes across as the stronger one. Not invincible or unbelievable, just a mature woman with the life experience and the level-headedness to deal with new and unexpected situations. That Kitt is sometimes both exasperated and excited by that, just makes me love him as much as I love Mae.
The mystery got a little convoluted at the end, but I was much less interested in the details of that, than I was in how things would end up between Mae and Kitt. I have my priorities, okay? Thankfully, I was happy with the outcome and happier still there is a book three to come.
February 3, 2021
Cute and fun. Sorry this is the last of them.
April 7, 2019
Clever, snarky, emotional, gritty.
All the things I loved about book 1, with another mystery and Kitt suffering partial amnesia from a mission gone wrong.
This is a wonderful series, and I'm relieved and delighted to learn there will be a book 3.
Movie producers - take note of this one!
All the things I loved about book 1, with another mystery and Kitt suffering partial amnesia from a mission gone wrong.
This is a wonderful series, and I'm relieved and delighted to learn there will be a book 3.
Movie producers - take note of this one!
June 28, 2022
So glad i picked up the second book because it ended my reading slump AGAIN and i enjoyed it more than the first somehow. Also i can’t get over any time mae says kitt’s first name i just GAHSKDHF
January 24, 2023
The h is grieving so when the spymaster puts her in danger, she doesn't much care. Of course murder and mayhem follow her, as she's the spy now. Loved the h's attention to detail, and the H's stoic nature. Very wordy and lots of bickering in this book, with a lot of Telling via heavy conversations.
April 1, 2020
A spy-mystery/thriller, with a dash of romance. It is a slow burn that I completely enjoyed. I can overlook a few issues with pacing because the plotting is so intricately well-crafted. Very, very dry delivery. Love the wordcraft and the spycraft and especially the characters of a certain age. I highly recommend this quirky different series. 4.5 stars
May 12, 2019
Still definitely not cosy. Actually a little to convoluted for me, but I was kind of invested in the main characters, which helped me move forward in the book. Enjoyed, but wouldn't necessarily recommend.
December 28, 2020
2.5 stars. I really like the two main characters but, as with the first one, the mystery plot is convoluted and hard to follow. There's also more gore and genuine trauma than I prefer in my genre fiction.
I'll still finish out the series.
I'll still finish out the series.
May 12, 2019
3.5 stars.
I really enjoyed the first In Your Service volume and then attempted Next to You and For Your Eyes Only, neither of which I was able to finish, and for the same reason: Antonelli loves creating large casts with plenty of backstory, and what I enjoyed about In Your Service (amongst other things) was its economy in plot and dialogue.
In this one, Forever in our Service, she apparently thought she would mix her two previous novels with Hamish Kitt and Mae Valentine, including the decision to set it in New Mexico. This did not work for me. There were too many incidental characters, too much about wine, too much about smuggling, and, frankly, too much repetitive to-ing and fro-ing between Kitt and Mae. Sometimes I had no idea what they were talking about. The obliqueness that had worked well in the first volume didn't work for me here.
Nonetheless, I have great hopes for vol. 3, because Mae and Kitt are terrific characters.
I really enjoyed the first In Your Service volume and then attempted Next to You and For Your Eyes Only, neither of which I was able to finish, and for the same reason: Antonelli loves creating large casts with plenty of backstory, and what I enjoyed about In Your Service (amongst other things) was its economy in plot and dialogue.
In this one, Forever in our Service, she apparently thought she would mix her two previous novels with Hamish Kitt and Mae Valentine, including the decision to set it in New Mexico. This did not work for me. There were too many incidental characters, too much about wine, too much about smuggling, and, frankly, too much repetitive to-ing and fro-ing between Kitt and Mae. Sometimes I had no idea what they were talking about. The obliqueness that had worked well in the first volume didn't work for me here.
Nonetheless, I have great hopes for vol. 3, because Mae and Kitt are terrific characters.
September 21, 2019
Mae Valentine has agreed to long engagement to her tenant and employer, the spy Major Kitt. But happy ever after is hard when you are worried about him returning alive. And even harder when he's killed. Needing to stay busy, Mae agrees to butler for a questionable character and report on his activities...
Why I started this book: Crazy characters and I wanted to see their happy ever after.
Why I finished it: I should have remembered that Antonelli loves to torment and play with her characters and that there is far less ever after and a lot more one thing after another.
Why I started this book: Crazy characters and I wanted to see their happy ever after.
Why I finished it: I should have remembered that Antonelli loves to torment and play with her characters and that there is far less ever after and a lot more one thing after another.
May 24, 2025
The start of this book had me thinking I'd totally misjudged who this series was about. Everything turned on its head, and I was quite upset for the characters as well. That's all I can say without spoilers. Gimme the next one!
April 14, 2019
Can't review cause spoilers. I love this series.
April 18, 2019
Fun, fast paced, romantic. Over the top punning and hat tipping to spy and mystery genre classics prevalent, cheeky acknowledgement of silly scenarios and a twisty mystery.
February 10, 2021
I adored this. I don't know what more there is to say. You definitely need to read the first in the series in order to understand what's happening here, which is no hardship as that book is also well worth you time. I can't wait to read the next in the series.
January 1, 2022
I've supposedly reviewed this already.
March 22, 2022
Really well written with characters who are smart, capable, and real. The only drawback for me was the complex international spy/smuggling ring plot which I gradually lost understanding of.
April 5, 2022
Loved this book
5 stars. Entertaining, thrilling, romantic. I loved every thing about it, perfect entertainment. On to the next I can't wait to read their next adventure.
5 stars. Entertaining, thrilling, romantic. I loved every thing about it, perfect entertainment. On to the next I can't wait to read their next adventure.
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September 23, 202212/5/2020 ; 9/22/2022
August 17, 2022
3.5 stars. I'm enjoying these books more on the re-read. Sometimes, I just need to get used to the author's voice, I guess.
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