High Treason at the Grand Hotel: A Fiona Figg Mystery Book Two

The headstrong and quick-witted filing clerk turned intrepid wartime spy Fiona Figg’s second adventure has her hopping to the continent and sampling the wares of Paris, which even in the straits of WWI was bustling far merrier than dreary old London. Fiona ignored all the dire warnings and sharp orders given to her to leave her “costumes” at home and packed more disguises in her luggage than actual clothing, so she couldn’t let them go to waste now could she? Her adoring visits to the costume shop remind me of the highly amusing yet bungling Inspector Clouseau of the Pink Panther movies. She was to keep a low profile and merely gather information, no way! There was no holding her back as she was soon embroiled in several murders, thrown in a filthy jail cell with horrible men, and took on a side hobby of tracking a jewel thief and possible serial killer in her spare time when not hobnobbing with Mata Hari. I aspire to her bold level of daredevil audaciousness! I have enjoyed Ms. Oliver’s wry humor and clever storytelling, she has amused and kept me well entertained for several days. I am now even more enamored with historical cozy mysteries after reading the first two of her series and am looking forward to the next planned installment when the Feisty Fiona Figg will be off to Austria behind enemy lines to meet the King and Queen at a royal ball. How thrilling! My curiosity was further tipped by information tucked into the Afterward about several of the characters in the books being notables and real-life figures of the time. So, of course, a visit to my friend Mr. Google was required and I fell down an ever-familiar rabbit hole while looking up the infamous Mata Hari. Funny how that happens… Yet another case of amusing fiction leading me into an interesting history lesson.