A Dangerous Engagement is the stylish, charming sixth novel in the Edgar-nominated Amory Ames mystery series by Ashley Weaver, set in 1930s New York. As they travel by ship to New York for her childhood friend Tabitha’s wedding, Amory Ames gazes out at the city’s iconic skyline, excited by the prospect of being a bridesmaid. Her husband Milo, however, is convinced their trip will be deadly dull, … trip will be deadly dull, since Prohibition is in full swing. But when a member of the wedding party is found murdered on the front steps of the bride’s home, the happy plans take a darker twist.
Amory discovers that the dead groomsman has links to the notorious–and notoriously handsome–gangster Leon De Lora, and soon she and Milo find themselves drawn into another mystery. While the police seem to think that New York’s criminal underworld is at play, Amory feels they can’t ignore the wedding party either. Tabitha’s fiancé Tom Smith appears to be a good man, but he has secrets of his own, and the others in the group seem strangely unaffected by the death of their friend . . .
In an unfamiliar city, not knowing who they can trust, Milo and Amory are drawn into the glamorous, dangerous world of nightclubs and bootleggers. But as they draw closer to unraveling the web of lies and half-truths the murdered man has left in his wake, the killer is weaving a web of his own.
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1930s New York comes alive in this book’s wonderful descriptions, most especially because we’re seeing it all through the perspective of the very British Amory Ames, for whom New York is new and exciting. Prohibition might have been the law of the land, but that doesn’t mean Amory and her sexy husband, Milo, won’t have a roaring good time, as well as encounters with a notorious crime boss and plenty of nail-biting danger. All the suspects appeared to have good reasons to be guilty, and I was guessing to the end, and then thoroughly surprised!
Amory and Milo can’t escape murder even when they travel to America for a friend’s wedding. You will love watching them navigate this new world of prohibition gangsters and speakeasies in search of a killer.
‘As they travel by ship to New York for her childhood friend Tabitha’s wedding, Amory Ames gazes out at the city’s iconic skyline, excited by the prospect of being a bridesmaid. Her husband Milo, however, is convinced their trip will be deadly dull, since Prohibition is in full swing. But when a member of the wedding party is found murdered on the front steps of the bride’s home, the happy plans take a darker twist.
Amory discovers that the dead groomsman has links to the notorious–and notoriously handsome–gangster Leon De Lora, and soon she and Milo find themselves drawn into another mystery. While the police seem to think that New York’s criminal underworld is at play, Amory feels they can’t ignore the wedding party either. Tabitha’s fiance Tom Smith appears to be a good man, but he has secrets of his own, and the others in the group seem strangely unaffected by the death of their friend . . .
In an unfamiliar city, not knowing who they can trust, Milo and Amory are drawn into the glamorous, dangerous world of nightclubs and bootleggers. But as they draw closer to unraveling the web of lies and half-truths the murdered man has left in his wake, the killer is weaving a web of his own.’
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4.5 stars, rounded down to 4 stars.
A Dangerous Engagement is the sixth book in Ashley Weaver’s An Amory Ames Mystery series and is a historical mystery set in the 1930s.
Seeing how far Milo and Amory have come in terms of the health of their marriage since the start of the series, I think it would be so lovely if at some point there is a prequel added to the series that covers their whirlwind romance to see where they came from before things fell apart to be built back together.
There is some serious heavy hinting as to the state of Amory’s health and it was shocking just how long it took her to realize what was going on. But I’m very glad to see the plot taking this direction with their marriage in the state that it is.
I didn’t find this to be the most thrilling or intruiging mystery we’ve encountered thus far in the series, but it did take a turn the the others hadn’t yet explored and I still very much enjoyed it. Amory and MIlo didn’t quite work willingly as a team in this book, but when circumstances pushed them to it they did so quite well. If they could only take it as a lesson and realize that things go better for them when they do, versus holding information back from the other every time they encounter another murder.
Looking forward to reading the next book in the series and meeting the Ames’ mewest addition. I would recommend this historical mystery series to others, but I would recommend reading them inorder.
I was jazzed to be the first on the library list to get a copy of this. book. I really like the characters of Amory and Milo, and that their relationship isn’t a perfect one. I also enjoyed the descriptions of New York City right before Prohibition ended.
The Amory Ames books always manage to have a good surprise in them, and are fun reads.
This series continues to offer the reader a chance to travel back in time with the main characters.
This time we get an introduction into NYC and it’s questionable groups of gangsters and such.
It’s hard to know who is trustworthy and who may be walking a fine line between legal and illegal.
Amory’s “mystery” seemed pretty obvious to me, but still fun.
I always enjoy my time spent with high society couple Milo and Amory Ames. A DANGEROUS ENGAGEMENT, the couple’s sixth adventure, finds the pair in Prohibition era New York City to attend a wedding. Amory is set to be her childhood friend Tabatha’s bridesmaid, but Amory cannot help but feel there is something going on beyond the betrothed couple’s happiness. When one of the groomsmen Grant is shot down in front of Tabitha’s home, Amory is sure that his rumored gangster ties are at the root of the problem and investigates. Milo, more concerned with maintaining his social activities and a new business proposition, leaves the quest for justice mostly up to Amory.
I adore Amory and Milo. They represent everything that is suave and elegant about the 1930’s. Their relationship is not perfect, and they are flawed, but these differences make them all the more appealing. Amory is gutsy, intelligent, and has a good gut instinct that rarely fails her. The characters central to this mystery, the wedding party and gangster Leon De Lora, are captivating, providing suspects and other minor mysteries, and help round out the story. I do hope De Lora and his songstress make another appearance in future books. They are compelling and mysterious. The mystery itself is also interesting, but it lagged a bit. However, I was completely surprised by whodunit. I also wonder how the series, particularly Milo and Amory roles, will change after the revelations of this installment.
A DANGEROUS ENGAGEMENT is an entertaining, stylish addition to the Amory Ames Mystery Series. I hope there are many more books featuring Amory and Milo. Recommended to any historical mystery reader.
Gratefully, I received and ARC of this title through NetGalley from Minotaur Books and voluntarily shared my thoughts and opinions here.
This is one of those mystery series that has made it to my must read list and never disappoints me. Amory and her husband, Milo have sailed to New York City to attend the wedding of one of Amory’s friends, Tabitha. It’s October 1933 and while Amory is looking forward to the wedding festivities, Milo is convinced that he will be bored, bored, bored. To start with, no booze! Outrageous. Ah but all is not so festive and soon one of the groomsmen is found murdered and his shady dealings with bootlegger are blamed for his demise. Or is it?
Amory and Milo are old hands at investigating homicides and waste no time tracking down a killer.. The setting, the time period and the well crafted mystery all came together to draw me in and entertain me. I’m ready for their next investigation.
I love cozy mysteries and this Amory Ames’ Mystery series did not disappoint. Amory and Milo travel from Britain to New York City – set in the 1930’s tail end to the Prohibition Era. Amory’s childhood friend Tabitha Alden is getting married and Milo thinks that this will be one boring trip. Of course , an unexpected murder of one of the groomsman changes everything. The victim, Grant Palmer, is shot in front of the Alden Mansion. Palmer has some shady past connections, was working with a bootlegger Leon De Lora, and it may be too easy to blame the mob for this hit, or is it? Amory poses as a reporter to probe into this strange murder where nothing seems to be what it is, This story leads to some unexpected and surprising ending. I love the setting of New York City during that time with all the glamour of the night clubs, speakeasies and theater. I am definitely going to be reading the other books in this series as I absolutely love Amory and Milo as the sleuthing couple, and I am a fan!
Amory and Milo Ames are a wonderfully complicated crime-solving couple, and this sixth addition to the series was a clever one. It finds them leaving British soil for a friend’s wedding in NYC. Someone is murdered (literally on their doorstep), and Amory can’t resist sleuthing. We are introduced to an interesting gangster that I hope will show up in England at some point in the future. There were plenty of suspects to choose from, and I did not figure out the villain until they were revealed. Much enjoyed!
*Thanks to #NetGalley, #MinotaurBooks, and #StMartinsPress for providing the ARC. The opinions are strictly my own.