An American woman in Paris, about to start rehearsals for a play, gets mixed up in an espionage plot in Tuohy’s novel.

While accompanying her sister Vicki, her four-year-old niece Miranda, and her friend Mary to the Gare de l’Est train station, Sarah, who’d recently been cast in an English/French stage production, is haunted by the sight of the same striking woman in two different locations. Her companions think it’s an ordinary coincidence, but it quickly turns out to be just the start of a high-stakes game in which each member of the group, including young Miranda, is a potential target of criminals. One of them has been chosen to smuggle an item without her knowledge, and whatever it is, it’s apparently worth killing for. As antagonists close in, each woman must fight to protect those they love, and when Parisian authorities seem unable to help, they undertake their own detective work to bring their pursuers to justice. These fierce women interrogate and investigate, finding connections between a string of highly unsettling events. Sarah, however, fits best into this milieu, as her mind is often filled with exciting movie scenes. (She counts acting legend Sarah Bernhardt as a personal hero.) Sarah keeps young Miranda from imminent danger, finding her own strength and courage in the process. Over the course of this novel, Tuohy offers a thoroughly fun and consistently exciting tale. Fans of suspense fiction may find themselves able to quickly surmise the object of the criminals’ desire, but the plot’s numerous twists and turns will keep them wondering about the identity of the villain in the women’s midst. Although lives are lost as the events unfold, the author deftly avoids gratuitous gore and violence, offering thrills that are suitable for a wide range of readers. Moreover, Tuohy’s glimpse into Parisian life is often engaging, revealing the diversity of the city. Overall, the narrative is well paced, well researched, and certain to be well loved by readers.

A twisty, thrilling tale of the City of Light.

An American actress tries to solve a string of murders at a Paris theater in Tuohy’s mystery.  

Recently relocated to Paris to take part in a production of Don’t Look Now, Sarah’s stint in a supporting role seems doomed from the start. One actress has already been murdered, and on opening night, two more people are killed: the actress who replaced her and the lighting man. A detective is assigned to the case, but Sarah (along with Miranda, the 4-year-old niece she regularly babysits) sets off to do some investigative work of her own. She learns that there may have been more going on behind the scenes than she realized as the producers reveal that they allowed MI6 to cast the first murdered actress. (“Anyvay, I thought she was a relative, someone’s mozer-in-law. But then ve find she was vith the spy bunch.”) While this might lead some to suspect a larger espionage ring, Sarah can’t shake the feeling that she is somehow at the center of these murders, cursed by her involvement in a past production of the notoriously ill-fortuned Macbeth. Other references and intertextual allusions abound in Tuohy’s story, from the lead character’s twinning with her hero, the famed actress Sarah Bernhardt, to the red mackintosh from the film version of Don’t Look Now, which appears as an ominous gift for young Miranda. While further murders occur and the suspense continues to build as the story develops, there is a lingering sense that Sarah is not in any real danger; the twists and turns are frothy and somewhat arch, recalling the tone of the television series Only Murders in the Building more than, say, an Agatha Christie novel. If some of the developments seem outlandish—such as the casual mention that Miranda’s former babysitter was also murdered, and the fact that the tot has twice been the victim of attempted kidnappings before the age of 5—they still remain fun. For those interested in a light, breezy, fast-paced mystery that knowingly nods to other works, this is a worthy escapist read.

A nimble, charming mystery that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Two brave women battle to live how they choose and become friends in the process.

Set in 1929, this is a story of female friendship and empowerment, a story of self-discovery. In an era when Marlene Dietrich caused a stir for wearing pants, women are trying their hands, for the first time, in male-centric fields. Jenny is a gifted pilot but is not interested in competition and record-breaking, preferring instead to fly when she feels like it and otherwise live her life. When she successfully pulls a stunt no one has tried before—flying under all of New York City’s bridges—another woman-in-a-man’s-world becomes interested in her. Laura is a reporter, fiercely ambitious and willing to follow Jenny to the Midwest in order to get her story. But she has another reason to want to poke around near St. Louis: Her mother is mute on the subject of her father, but Laura has a photograph that proves her mother was in that area when she was young. Laura hopes to find her roots. At first Laura and Jenny clash, but over the course of the novel, as Laura experiences the joys of flying, the two women come to understand one another and to learn from each other. The prose has a tendency to overexplain, in platitudes, who the characters are and how they are feeling. For example, Laura’s bohemian mother lives in the West Village and has an affair with William Carlos Williams; to describe her, Tuohy (The Five O’Clock Follies, 2012) writes, “Free was Evelyn’s favorite word.” For a novel about an exhilarating experience during an exciting era in American history, it tends toward the unimaginative and is often repetitive.

What should be dramatic is made dull in this historical novel.

A freelance writer struggles to find her place among hard-nosed newsmen covering the Vietnam War in this depiction of wartime journalists.

In her debut, former Associated Press editor Tuohy describes the Vietnam War through a journalist’s lens. Freelance writer Angela Martinelli arrives in Saigon in 1968, wearing her “greenness” in the form of high-heeled shoes and a gorgeous mane of red hair. As one of the few women correspondents in a war zone, Angela is greeted with misogyny, skepticism or disdain by her male colleagues, except for Nick, who works for a Chicago newspaper and gives her the benefit of the doubt. She soon proves her merit and bravery in the middle of a covert operation in Cambodia, surviving capture by the Viet Cong, living in a bunker during a siege and chasing truths that the military denies and her fellow reporters doubt. Angela also finds romance in the midst of this chaos; eventually she must choose: her career or love. Angela’s determination is commendable as she forges ahead in spite of incredible dangers and an unconscionable lack of professional support. She’s a model for young women seeking equality in male-dominated professions. Some portions of the book are slow, but they accurately reflect the downtime journalists endure between scoops—hanging out at bars, drinking Scotch, swapping gossip and waiting for the next gig. The story picks up steam when Tuohy describes pivotal moments of the war: the Tet offensive, the siege of Khe Sanh, soldiers on the line and the horrific injuries they sustained, even the psychological torment of walking endlessly through the jungle. The action is riveting and the writing is clear, detailed and highly readable.

An engrossing portrait of a woman among men in wartime.