Welcome to Burning Cove, California where 1930s Hollywood glamour conceals a ruthless killer… what’s paying the bills.
After shooting crime scene photos of a famous actress, the latest victim of the murderer the press has dubbed the “Dagger Killer,” Vivian notices eerie similarities to the crime scenes of previous victims—details that only another photographer would have noticed—details that put Vivian at the top of the killer’s target list.
Nick Sundridge has always been able to “see” things that others don’t, coping with disturbing dreams and visions. His talent, or as he puts it—his curse—along with his dark past makes him a recluse, but a brilliant investigator. As the only one with the ability to help, Nick is sent to protect Vivian. Together, they discover the Dagger Killer has ties to the glitz and glamour of Hollywood royalty and high society. It is a cutthroat world of allure and deception that Vivian and Nick must traverse—all in order to uncover the killer who will stop at nothing to add them to their gallery of murders.
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If Amanda Quick writes it, I will read it!!!!
Artistic photographer Vivian Brazier’s name turns up on a coded message of a serial killer. In response, a powerful man assigns P.I. Nice Sundridge to protect her. Nick insists they shelter at Burning Cove hotel, where they meet up with her benefactor and another powerful man. It’s a high stakes chess game with life and death stakes. Suspenseful and romantic. Loved it.
I love this time period in California. Epic movies, movie stars, old Hollywood! This series takes all those things into account and adds a dash of mystery, a bit of intrigue, and I get a whole Film Noir vibe from whole Burning Cove location.
Vivian, trying to break into the art photography world, is moonlighting as a crime scene photographer. With her eyes on the unusual, she goes for a more composed photo of each scene. Unfortunately, this makes her a target for a serial killer.
Nick, a private investigator, has the ‘curse’ of his family. The ability to feel and see things before they happen. He’s hired to protect Vivian and together they try to keep one step in front of the killer, as they begin to have romantic feelings for one another.
Plot twists keep you trying to figure out ‘who done it’ as the book moves forward at breakneck speed. Some characters from prior Burning Cove books are mentioned, but reading the prior books is not necessary. Close Up can certainly be read as a standalone.
I so enjoyed this book and can’t wait to read the next in this series.
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Close Up by Amanda Quick aka Jayne Ann Krentz
Narrated by Morgan Hallett
I caught part of Jayne Ann Krentz’s Facebook live a few days ago. I was surprised that people were complaining about the era she is setting her historical romances in now. The last few books have been set in 1930s in a resort community just outside of Hollywood. Don’t get me wrong, I adored her regency romances, but this time period in history is so full of interesting breakthroughs in science and politics, music and technology.
The town of Burning Cove just outside of Hollywood is a hotspot for the rich and famous. Amanda Quick has crafted a town peopled with characters we’ve all come to know and love. Close up brings art photographer, Vivian Brazier to the cove when she becomes the target of a killer.
Nick Sundridge uses his talent to protect others. When he is sent to Vivian after she is attacked by the “Dagger Killer,” he knows there is more to this job than just protecting a stranger.
Vivian’s vision with the camera allows her to see the story inside her subjects. It makes her photographs more personal. It also allows her to see the darkness of a murderer, but will she realize too late the danger she is in?
The action-packed romance is in true Amanda Quick style, a little paranormal, a little suspense, a lot of drama, some humor and romance, wow, this is another example of why Amanda Quick/Jayne Ann Krentz is one of my favorite authors.
I’m addicted to audiobooks and Morgan Hallett did a fantastic job of narrating Close Up. She lent her talents to bringing this story to life, allowing us to see and hear the characters as if we are watching it on screen.
Amanda Quick introduces us to another interesting facet of 1930s California and differences in respect given photographers – artistic versus crime photographers. Vivian Brazier takes crime photos to make ends meet while she struggles with establishing herself as an artist. She is suddenly thrust into a murderer’s crosshairs when she points out to the lead detective that a recent series of murders look staged and are set with lighting a photographer might use. After a narrow escape from murder attempt, she is approached by Nick Sundridge, a private investigator. He was hired as her bodyguard when a mysterious volume of coded poetry fell into the hands of Luther Pell of Burning Cove. The encrypted poems detail the plans and victims of a serial killer. Working together to find out who is trying to kill her and who hired the killer lead to a fast paced thriller.
I love the Burning Cove books– historical but not as restrictive for female characters who are out to shape their own destinies. This one has just a whiff of the arcane which is an added bonus.
I have enjoyed all of the books in the burning cove series. The women are independent but smart enough to accept help when needed. Fun read with plot turns,
I enjoyed and loved every Burning Cove story and all the characters, Nick and Vivian’s story was great. Tight Rope and Close Up are my favorites just love the paranormal aspects with the Jones connection in the male characters.
I have now come to look forward to a new book in this series every year. I wish the author could drop two a year in this series. It is one of my favorite current series!
This one is just like the previous ones. A murder mystery wrapped in quirky characters who most certainly hold their own weight in the book. The 1920’s cheesy tv show vibe is ever present too. And I absolutely love it! Just like the other books, I felt like I was watching an old cheesy, fun, and exciting 1920’s show with my grandmother instead of reading a book.
These characters are fun. I can honestly say, I didn’t see the twists coming. It was nice that they were a shock to me. I love how well the author used misdirection in such a great way. It totally worked on me.
I can’t praise this series enough. This genre isn’t my preferred genre, but I absolutely love Amanda Quick’s writing of this genre. Amanda, if you’re reading this, please don’t stop.
Close Up by Amanda Quick was another thrilling romantic suspense in her Burning Cove series. I fell in love with Amanda Quick/Jayne Ann Krentz’s writing style years ago and read each new book as soon as they are released.
Vivian Brazier is an “modern” woman in the 1930’s who is determined to make it in the art world as a photographer. I liked her strength and relentless drive to her accomplish her dream. Nick Sundridge is enigmatic at first but Ms. Quick slowly peeled back the layers of Nick to show a quietly determined character that makes the most of his “curse” to help others. They made a great couple as they searched for answers. Vivian’s sister, Lyra, was a great supporting character. She brought humor to many of the scenes which helped ease the tension for a short time before it ramped up again. Murders, an assassin, red herrings, few suspects and a huge twist at the end made this a riveting read for me.
I received a copy of this book from my local library.
3.5
Vivian Brazier left the conventional life she could have had (getting married, running a household, having kids) in order to make it as an artist, particularly with her photography. In the interim of making it big, Vivian does freelance work as a photojournalist, documenting crime scenes. She knows there is a strong division between what people consider art and what others consider news, that’s why she keeps her name out of the papers, but Vivian knows that her success shouldn’t rest on the what she has to do in order to survive. When Vivian draws the attention of a serial killer she gets some much needed help from private detective Nick Sundridge whose ability to “see” things that others can’t has helped him solve many cases, and save many lives, including his own.
First off, I this has the most gorgeous cover of the entire series thus far. I love it. I love the art deco background.
Now, to the story. Having read, and enjoyed, all previous books in the series, I felt like Close Up starts off a little clunky. Readers are given a slight feint in regards to where the mystery will be starting off. I don’t say this as a spoiler because it’s all revealed within the few couple of chapters. Once the layout of the story is changed, it put me off a little bit. It took me a but more to get a feel for where the story is going and how everything ties together. In that regard I felt like the actual denouement was almost reaching in places in order to make things work. There were definitely a few places where it felt a little too jumbled. Not really a clean line of how things got from point A to B. Which I get because it’s a mystery/thriller, there’s going to be twists and turns, but I still believe, in the end, when all is revealed, things should be clear.
There were some good moments. I love being back in Burning Cove again. The setting of the series during the Golden Age of Hollywood has always been a standout.
I loved the behind the scenes look at photography and the different viewpoints on what is considered art (all subjective of course), and those that make the decisions on what is art. I think that, if anything, Amanda Quick really gave the most to getting Vivian’s story – her struggles as a woman trying to make it on her own, her struggles as an artist – on the page, and it was what worked the best for me in the entire read.
The past couple of books have leaned into the idea of supernatural-type powers. Nick has visions, goes into trances, where he gleams information about the cases he’s working, typically helping him solve them. Vivian also gets certain feelings about the people she photographs. Feels that inform how she should frame a shot and if it’s working or not. For the most part, these “powers” remain ambiguous. You could call them intuition, or you could fully stand on the side of psychic ability. I think Close Up more than the previous books makes a stand for the psychic ability aspect at least in regards to Nick and his visions. It’s an interesting turn of plot, as Nick frequently calls his visions a curse. Amanda Quick ties together the idea of things passed down through family. Things that have the ability to either help or hinder how we live our lives, and sometimes it’s what we do with them ourselves, the resources available to us, that can determine whether we’re helped or hindered. In this regard there’s a slight correlation between Nick and the killer. It’s an interesting dynamic and I would have like to have seen it explored more, but I think that would have meant exposing the mystery sooner.
Overall, while not my favorite in the series, the pages still flew by. I was engaged with the story, and I, as always, loved the setting and liked the characters. Quick keeps teasing a bigger storyline for Luther Pell and Raina Kirk so fingers crossed their book is next.
Close Up takes place in 1930’s Buning Cove, California. Vivian Brazier, an aspiring art photographer, is making ends meet by taking photos of crime scenes for local papers. After taking numerous shots of people murdered by the Dagger Killer, Vivian notices a small detail that enables the police to catch the killer. Unfortunately this puts Vivian in danger as someone is stalking her and planning on killing her. But who? And why? High society and Hollywood glamour, great characters, and a well written mystery makes this a book not to miss. I highly recommend it!
Set in the 1930’s, this nail biter is about a photographer who has angered the wrong people through no fault of her own. Trying to get by without the backing of her rich family after being disowned, Vivian Brazier has moved to the town of Adelina Beach, CA and is working hard to sell her photos to the local galleries. Having a hard time, she’s taken a night job as a crime photographer for the local papers. While photographing the latest crime scene, a Hollywood starlet, she recognizes something that no one, including the police do. The scenes have been staged, staged for the perfect photo. Calling her tip in to the detective in charge, she washes her hands of it.
Now, she’s up to her armpits taking photographs of the young bodybuilders that litter the beach, the ones hoping to make their way onto the silver screen and need good shots. That is until Nick Sundridge shows up at her little bungalow and informs her that her life’s in danger. Someone’s put a hit out on her and it’s up to Nick to make sure she survives.
Running from the killer, Nick and Vivian end up in Burning Cove, Ca where they set up the killer. With him out of the picture (in a rather dramatic way), we find out that Vivian is still not safe, and there’s yet another person wanting her dead.
This is the first book I read in the Burning Cove series (this is book 4 in the series), but I read it without issue. As a matter of fact, I didn’t know it was part of the series until I set out to write this review. This book is wonderfully written, a great mix of a period piece and a nail biting thriller. The list of suspects is long, and the final killer is a shock when revealed. I thoroughly enjoyed this story, and now need to read the rest of the series!
**I received an ARC of this story from Netgalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.
Close Up by Amanda Quick is the 4th book in the Burning Cove series. I have to admit that this is the first book I have read by this author, as well as in this series. She has definitely made me a fan. One does not have to read the previous 3 books to follow along nicely with this one. It seems like each one has central location ties, but a stand alone mystery with each book (I could be wrong about that).
I loved the time period: early 1930s. I love the locations located throughout California, although mainly Southern California. The book definitely had the old Hollywood vibe, which I love.
I loved the main characters: Vivian Brazier and Nick Sundridge. Vivian is smart, talented, bold, independent, and fiesty. She knows what she wants, and she is great at what she does: photography. I also liked that she was slightly older then a lot of these extremely young female protagonists that are featured lately. I took her as being early 30s. Nick is sarcastic, honorable, talented in his own profession as private investigator, and how can one not love his trained canine sidekick, Rex. I thought they were perfect for each other and their chemistry was off the charts. They also worked well together in helping solve the crimes, and saving Vivian’s life as well.
I enjoyed the murder/mystery plot. It was intricate, creative, and left me guessing until the end.
The entire plot was realistic (excluding the sixth sense aspect which added a spice to the mix), the dialogue and pace were appropriate and enjoyable, the secondary cast of characters were also excellent, and the ending was perfect. I would love to see a spin off of Vivian, Nick, his Uncle Pete, Lyra, and the gang because I think it could make for great series material.
Excellent book. 5/5 stars
Thank you Berkley/Penguin Random House for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.
Like the pseudonym, the books in this series are quick reads. Strong women and the men who can appreciate them, all with “talents”, whether them think of them as a gift, curse or just intuition.
Vivian Brazier is from a wealth family, but refused to marry the man her parents had picked out for her, and went out on her own as a photographer. Her vision was more artistic photography, but to be pay the bill she finds herself shooting headshots for aspiring actors by day and crime scenes at night.
However, she has made an enemy somewhere, because Nick Sundridge, informs her that a contract has been put out on her and he is there to protect her. Fast action detective work and witty banter keep the reader engage from the first page.
Mystery and romance combined. Amanda Quick always delivers.
Loved it!
Action packed. Multiple intrigues. Dry humor. Suspenseful. Seduction
What – “I never saw that coming.”
Close Up was a great read! I loved the 1930’s Hollywood vibe Quick had going on! I felt like I was watching an old black and white movie, capturing everyone at just the right angles. I really enjoyed the banter between Vivian and Nick too. They had wonderful chemistry and quirky personalities that meshed very well together.
This is a very different time period to your usual Amanda Quick set in the 1930’s. The main characters still have a bit of unusual magic running through the family’s. Vivian has used her magic to help identify a serial killer. She has now become number one victim for an hired assassin. In steps PI Nick Sundridge to help, a man with a few secrets himself. The setting changes to Burning Cove for the later part of the story and plenty of twists and turns come with our mystery, but Vivian cannot outrun destiny and will need all her witts to survive. This is the 4th book in the Burning cove series and familiar characters run through the series but you can read each as a stand alone.