In Playing It Safe, the third Electra McDonnell mystery, Ashley Weaver sends her quick-witted heroine to Sunderland for an adventure filled with espionage, bird-watching, and some good old-fashioned safecracking. Weaver (The Key to Deceit; A Peculiar Combination; A Deception at Thornecrest) takes Ellie out of her usual London context to test her mettle as a spy, which also adds a few layers to her already complicated relationship with Major Ramsey.
Weaver renders her 1940s setting in crisp historical detail; Ellie narrates, and she makes it her business to notice things. Ellie narrowly escapes injury upon her arrival in Sunderland and witnesses a suspicious death, prompting her to start investigating on her own before the major even arrives. The two have a charged, highly entertaining dynamic marked by respect for each other's intelligence; clashing investigative methods; and quite a bit of romantic tension. As Ellie wrestles with her inconvenient feelings, she also befriends a group of locals around her own age, any one of whom may be hiding something.
Weaver's plot zips along, taking in a wealthy eccentric with a penchant for birds and rare books, as well as the local chemist's shop, a printing press, and a possible forgery ring. Ellie finds herself in dire circumstances more than once, but her quick wit, lock-picking skills, and luck get her out of a few tight spots. A cliffhanger ending involving a family secret will leave readers eagerly awaiting Ellie's next adventure. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams