Pushover by Dianne Emley

Having worked her way up to the position of branch manager at the brokerage firm of McKinney Alitzer in downtown Los Angeles, Iris Thorne is pretty confident she can handle anything life throws at her. That is until her ex-fiancé, Todd Fillinger, calls up with a major investment opportunity for Iris in Russia.

Her instincts tell her to skip the trip and let the past be the past, but lingering guilt over the way their relationship ended–Iris left Todd at the altar, in Paris no less–overrides Iris’s instincts and she finds herself on a plane to Russia.

Almost immediately upon her arrival it becomes apparent something isn’t quite right with the situation, or Todd. When pressed, Todd admits he’s been having trouble with the Russian mafia, which is trying to elbow in on Todd’s art brokerage business. The seriousness of the situation is made graphically clear when, as Iris looks on in horror, Todd is gunned down outside the restaurant where the two were to have dinner.

Initially taken in for questioning by the Russian police, and a shady man who doesn’t identify himself, Iris is eventually extracted from the sticky situation by a member of the US Consulate. Feeling a sense of obligation to Todd now more than ever, Iris agrees to carry an urn containing his ashes back to the US for delivery to Todd’s sister, figuring it’s the least she can do. If only she’d trusted her instincts and never gotten on that plane to begin with…

Iris has no sooner landed and delivered the urn to Todd’s sister, who meets Iris at the airport, when she finds herself up to her eyes in threats and conspiracies, with everyone from the FBI to a decidedly determined and dangerous art thief to the Russian mafia demanding Iris turn over a priceless, and stolen, statue they are all under the impression she has returned from Russia with. Now Iris has to figure out a way to get to the bottom of things before she gets arrested, or killed.

As author Dianne Emley has been so kind to share in her retrospective on the Iris Thorne series, the evolution of Iris is really both the evolution of a character and a writer. With every book since her introduction in Cold Call, Iris has noticeably progressed as a character, evolving from that of a somewhat superficial and borderline irresponsible pseudo-adult into a more responsible and reasoned woman. It’s a progression fueled in no small part by Emley’s own growth as a writer, the evolving confidence in Iris mirroring that of Emley in her own ability as an author.

Indeed, Pushover, the fifth and (for now) final entry in the series, shows yet another leap forward. While Iris herself had grown in depth and complexity with each previous outing (Cold Call, Slow Squeeze, Fast Friends, Foolproof), it is in Pushover that the seeds for what was to come next for Emley are clearly sown from a pacing and plot point of view. Whereas the previous Thorne books tended to be more rooted in the mystery arena, Pushover has a noticeable infusion of the thriller genre, complete with international intrigue, conspiracies, shootouts and double crosses. Pushover clearly set the table for what was to come: The First Cut, the first entry in Emley’s (ongoing) Detective Nan Vining series, in which Iris actually makes a cameo appearance.

Not many authors would take the time–or be brave enough–to rerelease a series which saw its initial publication two decades ago…and to “resist the urge to make major changes, wanting to respect the books as they had been published.” I, for one, am incredibly happy that Emley did. For all the amusing era-specific details that pepper the Thorne series (think big hair, late 80s excess, and the “greed is good” mentality), Iris is actually a deceptively complex character. If you missed her the first time around, please do yourself a favor and discover what a wonderful series this is. And if you’re of a certain age, like me, not only will you enjoy the mysteries, you’ll enjoy the touch of nostalgia you’ll get while reading them as well.

Pushover is available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

PS – Dianne is giving away a copy of Pushover to one random commenter on her guest post, “No One’s Pushover,” so pop over and leave one!