Book Review: Beattie Cavendish and the White Pearl Club by Mary-Jane Riley

“… As powerful forces try to bury the truth, she must rely on her skills to survive a ruthless game of deception and the dawn of the Cold War.”

Goodreads blurb for Beattie Cavendish and the White Pearl Club

Review:

Beattie Cavendish and the White Pearl Club is the first book in a new series set post-World War II in the early days of the Cold War. An intriguing era, for sure! 

Rejecting the expectations of the time, for women to return to their docile roles now that the war has ended and the men have returned home, Beattie continues her special operations work in a new position. Undercover missions, spies, a murder… Beattie gets in the middle of it all. 

This was a decent start to the series, however, I unfortunately didn’t feel particularly engaged with the story. It almost felt like the murder was a distraction from the rest (though yes, it all ties together). It seems like a lot is being set up for future books, which resulted in a mishmash of events. At the same time, the story often came to a standstill and broke off into discourse about politics and religion. I would be curious to read book two to see how Beattie carries on, but I can honestly take or leave it. I hope it will delve deeper into the complexities of the Cold War, which was what appealed to me in the first place. 

Thanks to NetGalley and Allison & Busby for inviting me to read a free digital ARC of the book!

Likes & Dislikes:

What I liked:

• Great era that was captured well in the writing.
• A lot of potential for the main character.

What I didn’t like:

• Too many things are happening, all while world-building.
• Pacing wasn’t consistent.
• Needs more character development.

Afterthoughts:

I failed to read this within the time requested, so I deeply apologize! This portion of the email completely slipped my mind until it was too late.

Where to buy the book: