A PECULIAR COMBINATION

A clever young woman’s criminal lifestyle improbably puts her on the road to redemption in this exciting World War II series debut from Weaver.

Electra McDonnell was born in the prison where her mother died before she could be hanged for a murder Ellie’s convinced she didn’t commit. Raised by her Uncle Mick, she became part of the burglary squad her family ran as a sideline from their legitimate locksmithing business. Then, one night, while they're opening a safe in a house that's supposed to be deserted—they'd been told there would be jewelry there—Ellie and Mick discover that they've been set up. They're given the choice of working for the British government or going to jail. Mick and Ellie may be thieves, but they’re also patriots, and with Britain locked in war with Germany, Ellie’s happy to try cracking a safe that contains classified documents that have been stolen. Imperious Maj. Ramsey, who’s running the operation, introduces Ellie to a whole new world. Ellie and Ramsey enter a house whose safe is supposed to contain the documents only to find the safe open and a man lying dead on the floor. Still on the trail and enjoying a bit more of Ramsey’s trust, Ellie’s outfitted to pose as Ramsey’s date while they attend a party at the mansion of suspected German sympathizer Sir Nigel Randolf. During a lecture, they sneak off to Randolf’s study, where Ellie easily opens another safe but finds nothing of interest. Sparks fly when Ellie and Ramsey recognize their attraction to each other as Ellie continues to help Ramsey in a desperate search for those documents.

Brave Ellie and her aristocratic love should appeal to fans of Susan Elia MacNeal and Tessa Arlen.