Marion Lane and the Deadly Rose is the second book in this historical mystery series, and while I loved the world, the interesting gadgets and inventions, the secret tunnels, and everything else that smacks of secrecy, I did feel like something was missing from the story. Parts of it did drag considerably and does everything have to have a love triangle?

Marion Lane was an interesting main character and I do feel like there is plenty of room to develop her character in future books considering she is still an apprentice and not a full-blown investigator. I like how the author creates issues between her and her friends as she is asked to investigate certain activities under secrecy; I personally think the issues don't go far enough and the author missed a golden opportunity to really explore how important trust is in such a profession and how it can erode a working relationship.

While I enjoyed the overall story, I couldn't overlook the plot holes that existed throughout. The choppy writing style didn't help and as I had not read the first novel, I was paying close attention to relationships and characters, so I did notice some inconsistencies which could be confusing. And while most of the action took place at Miss Brickett's, I only have vague notions as to what anyone actually does outside of the institution. Considering this is the Cold War, the whole institution seems a bit simplistic to me, and very mismanaged, and I really feel like all of them would actually be killed quite easily if they were involved in some actual missions.

Verdict
Marion Lane and the Deadly Rose is one of those books over which I had mixed feelings. I thoroughly enjoyed the setting, loved the idea of it, but felt it lacked in actual reality especially if you have any good knowledge of Cold War exploits. However, taking place in 1959 does give the author plenty of scope to develop Cold War intrigue and conspiracies and having a heroine who is not a full-fledged investigator also allows for character development, but the author has not yet taken advantage of this as of yet. There was enough interesting aspects to the plot to keep my interest, but there were sections that were slow and needed some development. As always, I recommend you check this book out for yourself, but at this point, I am not sure if I will read the next book in the series. ( )