Welcome to my stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for Deadly Gamble: A World War II Mystery by Kate Parker. Stop by each blog on the tour for interviews, guest posts, spotlights, reviews and more!
Deadly Gamble: A World War II Mystery
by Kate Parker
Deadly Gamble: A World War II Mystery
Historical Cozy Mystery
11th in Series
Setting – Lisbon, Portugal in 1941
Publisher : JDP Press (April 16, 2024)
Print length : 255 pages
In 1940s Portugal, everyone is willing to trade secrets if the price is right.
Britain stands alone against the forces of Nazi Germany. Livvy Redmond is a young newspaperwoman determined to serve Britain’s spymaster in the face of danger. When she arrives in neutral Lisbon, she discovers a https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322998.phpcity full of spies, refugees, and the secret police.
At an elegant party to meet a double agent, Livvy witnesses him fall to his death from a balcony and must now determine what secrets he wanted to pass her. Further complicating matters, she must guard the man’s young daughter from sinister people trying to kidnap the girl.
Gambling on the assistance of British embassy staff, Livvy commits to uncovering the truth while keeping the orphan safe. With spies and traitors lurking around every corner, Livvy must race against time to learn the secret someone has already killed to keep hidden – and is willing to murder again to protect.
Deadly Gamble is the exciting eleventh book in the World War II mystery Deadly Series. If you like intrepid heroines, research-based history and clean reads, then you’ll love USA Today Bestselling Author Kate Parker’s page-turning mystery.
My review of Deadly Gamble
Deadly Gamble by Kate Parker is the eleventh book in the Deadly series which is one of my favorite cozy mystery series! It’s a historical mystery set in England and Portugal that takes place during WWII.
Olivia Redmond is a newspaperwoman who’s also a British spy. When she receives an assignment from Sir Malcolm, her “spy boss,” she travels to Portugal to write travel-type articles for the paper. Livvy is chosen for this particular assignment since the double agent requested a woman as his contact. Not knowing why, she still agrees to meet the man at a party, but he dies from a fall from a balcony at the party before she meets with him. She subsequently discovers that he was afraid that he’d be murdered and wanted a woman spy because he has a four year old daughter, Anna.
I loved Deadly Gamble! Through the series, I’ve come to think of Livvy as a friend, so it’s always fun to read about her latest adventure. She’s a strong woman who has suffered much loss and endured dangerous assignments. Livvy can blend in in her assignments since she speaks a few languages. (Unfortunately, Portuguese isn’t one of them, but her partner during this assignment has that covered.) Livvy works well with whomever she’s partnered with even when they’re jerks. Most importantly, she’s very good at her assignments.
Deadly Gamble’s mystery is very well-plotted, and it never feels like something is happening just to fill space. It’s very exciting, and I couldn’t put it down. I read this page-turning novel in a little over a day. I loved how detailed the side characters were written, especially Anna who is a delightful little girl. The author paints a beautiful picture of Lisbon, Portugal. I could picture the colorful houses and beautiful locations. It really makes me want to see Portugal for myself!
If you love historical cozy mystery books, I highly recommend that you read Deadly Gamble! The exciting plot, well-written characters, and beautifully-detailed descriptions make this a must-read!
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.
Character Guest Post
Hi. My name is Anna Erwitz. I am four years old. I have spent all of my life traveling until just a few months ago, when Papa and I settled in Lisbon. I don’t remember most of our traveling to escape the soldiers, and I barely remember Mama. She disappeared before we arrived in Lisbon.
Papa told me I have been in more countries than I can count to escape the German soldiers. After spending more than six months trying to get from my Papa’s homeland, Poland, to my mother’s homeland, England, we were in Belgium. That was where my Mama vanished when the big bombs fell. Papa told me it was a secret that Mama left then and not to tell anybody. Then Papa took me through France and Spain to reach Portugal. He tells people different stories about what happened to Mama, but I remember the truth. I don’t tell anyone, though. Not even to Livvy. Papa says we need to keep our secrets deep inside.
Before she left, Mama gave me a doll that is soft and cuddly. She said to cling to it if I was afraid. Then Papa told me secrets must not ever be told, because they are dangerous. Now I hold my doll tightly all the time.
Fortunately, Livvy speaks German. I speak Portuguese to play with my friend Marta while her mama watches me for Papa while he’s at work. I speak German and some Polish to speak to Papa and his friends. Livvy and her friends in the embassy speak English which I don’t understand yet, but I can almost remember my Mama speaking to me when I was little. Papa told me they speak English in England.
Now that my Papa’s dead, I want to go to England to be with my Mama. Once we reached Portugal, Papa found out where Mama is. He told me I must know where to find her if he wasn’t there to remind me. He gave me a long string of words I didn’t understand that I had to remember. He told me as long as I remembered this, the Brits would take care of me.
We practiced the secret words over and over again for two weeks. Then he told me the Englishwoman was coming and I was to let her know my secret, but don’t tell anyone else. The next night, Livvy came and said Papa was dead. I wouldn’t see him anymore. I was very sad, but she said I could stay with her. She spoke German, so I understood her.
Then I realized, when we went to the British embassy the next day, that Livvy was from England, the same as Mama. I started to recognize words I could remember my Mama saying. I began to realize this was the woman my Papa told me would come to rescue me and I must tell her the secrets. We would have lots of adventures before she could get me to safety with my Mama.
Deadly Gamble by Kate Parker is the eleventh story in the Deadly Series of historical mysteries. It can be found in e-book and print at all your favorite online retailers.
About Kate Parker
Kate Parker grew up inside the Beltway, when DC was a sleepy southern city and you could walk along the sidewalk directly in front of the White House. Now you can’t get within a block of the White House, and it takes Foggy Bottom and the Pentagon to house even part of what the Old State, War and Navy building held. All this fed Kate’s love of history. With retirement, Kate moved to North Carolina and took up writing historical mysteries. Now with a career spanning over a decade, Kate is a USA Today bestselling author and the Deadly Series is her longest-running series. She lives with her daughter and a 110-pound puppy.
Author Links
Website http://www.KateParkerbooks.com Facebook http://www.facebook.com/author.kate.parker/
Purchase Links
Amazon – B&N – Kobo – Apple
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Deadly Gamble TOUR PARTICIPANTS
April 16 – Elizabeth McKenna – Author – SPOTLIGHT
April 16 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
April 17 – Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense – SPOTLIGHT
April 17 – Teatime and Books – SPOTLIGHT
April 18 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
April 19 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW
April 20 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
April 20 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
April 21 – Carla Loves To Read – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
April 22 – Christa Reads and Writes – REVIEW
April 23 – The Mystery Section – SPOTLIGHT
April 24 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
April 24 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
April 25 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT
April 25 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – AUTHOR GUEST POST
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Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for the review, sounds good.
Kate Parker’s book Deadly Gamble sounds like a book that I would love to read!
Love historical fiction, would really enjoy reading “Deadly Gamble”.
Fascinating cover
Sounds like an intriguing mystery! I would really enjoy reading this. Thanks!
This looks like a good read!
You cannot go wrong with a Kate Parker mystery-thanks