Conor McBride has accepted bargains he may live to regret – assuming he lives through them at all. He’s taken an undercover assignment in exchange for the chance to resume his career as a solo violinist. He’s also agreed to a proposal from the woman he loves, but it isn’t the type he had in mind. When their simple mission turns complicated, Conor and Kate discover everyone is hiding something – … – secrets as twisted as the fabled lanes of an old world city. Unraveling them will be anything but simple, or safe.
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I was really excited to dig into this book because Book 1 was so good. This story had it’s charms as well but I did enjoy the first book more. Our hero, Conor McBride, is in dire need of some serious rest and relaxation. He goes to great pains to walk away from the espionage business that entangled him and his brother in Book 1. A fancy but quiet Vermont Bed & Breakfast needs an experienced dairy farmer and that’s right up Conor’s alley.
At the B&B, he meets Kate (the owner) and Abigail (the motherly demanding chef). Kate is a painter who’s currently suffering from artist’s block. She sits in front of her canvas day in and day out not painting because she lacks that spark. She does have a good sense of humor and can be stubborn and decisive. Sometimes I liked her and sometimes I rolled my eyes at her. She’s initially a little prickly with Conor, assuming that Conor has assumed she’s incompetent at farm work. Kate says she’s good with the tractor but we never see her doing any farm work, so I have my doubts.
Kate is directly tied to my one complaint for this book. I don’t mind a little romance with my espionage thriller, but I do mind characters being idiots and Kate was often an idiot and it usually was because of the romance. She is idiotically jealous over something Conor mumbles in his sleep. In another incident, she feels that Conor needs to ask her forgiveness and I felt she was being high handed, needy, and immature. Finally, there’s this end stage of the spy operation and Kate insists on going along with no spy training. This was such a bad idea but she bullies her way into it, endangering everyone. I really dislike it when stories use this particular ploy to make room for drama later on. So, yeah, I wanted to like Kate but I felt that she was mostly useless and at times detrimental to the other characters.
I loved that Conor played his violin for Kate. They chat about art in general and her artist’s block. Conor makes a comment along the line that Kate is making it all about herself instead of the art – and that sums up Kate perfectly. She’s not a bad person but she is self-centered.
Along this same line, I have to say that the ladies in this book are all comforters or love interests. Kate and Abigail and Yvonne (I think I have her name right) are well written but I wanted more from the women in general. It’s the modern age and lady spies have been around for hundreds if not thousands of years. It would nice to see that reflected here.
Setting that aside, it was great to have Frank Murdoch and Sedgewick back in the game. Conor thought he had been clever, had left his old life behind, but he’s also new to all this spy business. So he’s not too surprised when Murdoch reaches out and has an assignment for him. There’s some unfinished business with Vasily Draganov, the big baddie from Book 1. Conor is still mourning his brother Thomas and his mother Brigid and the loss of the family farm. I could easily see how torn Conor was – go after this man or put it all behind him and try to heal.
At the end of Book 1, I wasn’t sure how much to trust Sedgewick and Murdoch but now there is a true bond among the three men. They each go through this new crisis and come out knowing each other better. Sedgewick is still a bit paranoid and rougher around the edges and Murdoch is still all proper English (doing his best to hide his heritage).
There’s plenty of double crossing and double agents stuff going on. It’s clear by the end of Book 1 that one of the good guys was feeding intel to one of the bad guys. Now in this book, that gets dealt with and wrapped up. Also, there’s a lingering string back to Thomas and to Conor’s farm caretaker (no longer employed since he sold the place) Phillip. I was delightfully surprised with the big reveal on that and also on how it got handled.
All told, 4/5 stars. If the next book comes to audiobook land, I will give it a listen because I think Kate can grow and become useful.
The Narration: Wayne Farrell was great! He has a light Irish accent for Conor that is just perfect. He also does a good job with the female voices. I loved his voice for Sedgewick, especially when Sedgewick was being rude or was in the grip of malaria or alcohol. He also had a good kid voice for the young lad. There were no technical issues with this recording. 5/5 stars.
I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Kathryn Guare. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.
After Conor McBride made so many enemies in India, he needed a place to hide out where various mobster drug dealers and government agents could not find him. Based on a recommendation from Phillip, his farm manager, Conor ends up in Vermont, working on a farm for his room and board fore Kate, Phillip’s American cousin. For more than half this book, the author focuses on their growing relationship between Kate and Conor. Conor has suffered relapses from his pneumonia and weakness from his bout with tuberculosis. He also suffers from nightmares and terrible Guilt for the deaths he caused. Kate also suffers as a result of her husband’s drowning death; a gifted artist, she has been unable to paint. Some of the best parts of the book occurred when Conor and Kate talked about their art and inability to find beauty. Of course, in the end, thugs find Conor and Kate, and the remainder of the book involves escapes and near-death experiences.
couldn’t stop reading this one and all in the story line.
I think Kathryn Guare has created a wonderful character, an Irish spy with a heart of gold. Everyone loves a hero that is vulnerable, and Conner McBride fits the bill nicely. The fact that he is a virtuoso violinist, an oft-times reciting poetic bard, and action packed heroic M16 secret weapon doesn’t hurt either. Guare’s descriptive writing is flawless, however, I do agree with the writer of the only two-star review that The Secret Chord received, if I hear about one more cup of tea being drunk, or one more runny nose, hacking cough, or sleepless and tired complaint being aired, I will explode!