Multiple Exposure is the debut release of the Sophie Medina series written by Ellen Crosby; it was written nearly ten years ago and re-released in 2022 because the two-book series was recently picked up again by the publisher. I've read and enjoyed the author's other series, The Wine Country Mysteries, and now that I'm current in that one, I decided to give this collection a chance. It's a complex tale of Russian and American political discord amidst oil discovery, faked deaths, and a photographer's quest to determine the truth about what happened to her husband, Nick. Crosby drew me in immediately with the protagonist, and as her world crashed and rebuilt itself, I eagerly turned the pages to discover what really happened to Nick. Toss in a few interesting senators, ambassadors and photographers, and you've got a bevy of deep characters who each have a solid role in the mystery. A few side stories were left unaddressed, possibly just red herrings, but I do things closed up a bit more tightly. Recommended new series to start, and I'm ordering book two next month.1-fiction 3-multi-book-series37 s RobertAuthor 11 books431

I wanted to MULTIPLE EXPOSURE, with its photojournalist main character, DC setting, and spy tendencies, which makes the fact that I didn’t enjoy this novel a much harder pill to swallow. Coupled with the fact that I was forgetting portions of this story as soon as I flipped the page on my Kindle caused me brief bouts of despair and forced me to race to the finish line faster than the Road Runner.

So what didn’t work for me? The dialogue felt a bit stilted at times, more the way people talk than the way dialogue should look on the page. Sophie Medina seemed an interesting enough character, and it’s rather easy to root for her once she’s caught up in this international quagmire, but it felt a bit farfetched, and I never entirely accepted the angle that she needed to prove Nick’s innocence all by herself. She’s an amateur sleuth, and I never quite bought her amateur status. Feeling more caricatures than fully-formed beings, the bad dudes seemed evil for evil’s sake. While I realize it’s difficult to ground villains with humanity, it ratchets up the evil about five or six notches when we have a better understanding of the scoundrels, think Hannibal Lector. This certainly proves more difficult in first person narratives, but it’s still possible to achieve success with this angle, either through a tidbit Sophie learns, or possibly overhears, or direct dialogue with the villain or one of his nefarious cohorts.

The ending felt abrupt to me, similar to a train coming to a screeching halt. While I realize this is the start of a new mystery series, and Ellen Crosby needs to save some stamina for her future endeavors, I would have been happier if the conclusion didn’t feel rushed. While I do appreciate the rather over practiced art of criminals incriminating themselves, I don’t think Sophie Medina has the skills to pull it off. And for a relatively short novel, we end up with quite the mixed bag of villains—Baz, Katya, Taras, Vasiliev, and Roxanne and Scott Hathaway—more than enough to cause me repeated whiplash. Add to this, the scandals of blackmail, unplanned pregnancy, murder, and an international energy scheme, and I was left with one hell of a headache.

While this novel showed plenty of promise, it failed a bit in the overall execution, probably from downing too many pills at the same time.

I received this book for free through NetGalley.netgalley9 s Una TiersAuthor 6 books377

Another awesome start followed by repetitions. There are also stereotypes and the protagonist has an immediate answer to any problem. Still, I read to the bitter end although by that time I didn't have much invested in the outcome.5 s Elizabeth1,081 27

I've been a fan of Ellen Crosby's Wine Country mysteries since I read the first one. I waited patiently for each one to be released so that I could devour it. Now, I feel even more interested in the Sophie Medina series. I was involved with this book from the first sentence to the last. Sophie is a very interesting, inquisitive character. She's very able and one of those characters you'd really to know. The other assorted characters were well developed and connected well with the plot. The storyline was great! I loved the author's lessons about Washington DC. Having lived in Fredericksburg, VA for 5 years, it was so great to hear about the places we visited - and some we never knew about. In fact, I felt the location was almost a character. I enjoyed the historical tidbits about the Faberge eggs. Truthfully, there was nothing I can criticize. I'm ready for Book 2! Highly recommended.

A big thank you to Net Galley and Scribner for the opportunity to read this book and provide an honest review. It was truly my pleasure.kindle netgalley4 s Martina1,159

First in a new series featuring photographer Sophie Medina... This is so good! All the great touches of the Virginia Vineyard series, but a broader geography, a dynamite professional photographer heroine and fascinating settings in the plot. I'm liking it very much! Terrific plot. I love the Russian touches, referencing both Faberge treasures and modern politics. Weave in photography/photojournalism plus the stew of Washington politics and society and you have a terrifically satisfying thriller in your hands. The tension remains high! Great new direction for this wonderful author.

Re-reading for Mystery Book Group now... Enjoyed it just as much the second time around. Looking forward to tonight's discussion.mystery-crime mystery-group-read3 s Lynn Neilson54

Quite loved this book as an engrossing page-turner. Perfect level of espionage, drama, personal relationships, trust, lack of trust, absolutely no trust at all and character development. A lot more tension than the Wine Country books, the kind where you really need to keep reading to see what happens next. After a small break for a few other books, will try the second one in this very short, 2-book-so-far series.2 s Paul Pessolano1,377 42

“Multiple Exposure” by Ellen Crosby, published by Scribner.

Category – Mystery/Thriller Publication Date – August6, 2013

It is not often today that you can classify a novel as appropriate for all readers. “Multiple Exposure” is a book that will not only satisfy a reader’s need for a good mystery, but does not contain anything objectionable in either the sexual, language, or violence category.

Sophie Medina is a photojournalist living and working in London. Her husband, a CIA operative has been missing for several months. Just about everyone has given him up for dead, however Sophie learns that he was recently spotted in Moscow. She also learns that he is a suspect in two murders. One of the murders was his boss at Crowne Energy. The company was drilling for oil in a poor Russian province and may have potentially hit sweet crude oil.

The province wants to break from Russian control, but Russia wants to keep the province under its control for the possibility of huge riches if the oil is found.

Sophie returns to the United States and becomes involved in the affairs of Senator and a citizen of the Russian providence who has been working for the separation of the province from Russia. At a party, Sophia overhears a conversation that leads her to believe that an assassination attempt may be made to keep the province in Russian hands, and that possibly the Senator may be part of the plot.

“Multiple Exposure” leads the reader on a chase that has just about everyone involved, one way or another, in the murder plot. Blackmail and espionage are just a small part of what is involved in this mystery, and the reader will be surprised as to how it all unwinds.


2 s Anne Kremidas127

What fun! A great mystery/spy novel set in London and DC. Wonderful characters and definitely I did not guess who did it and why until the end. I especially enjoyed the details of locations in DC and the true-to-life (with only a couple of exceptions) of how things work. Definitely I will be reading the rest of the series. 1 VickiLee1,132 1 follower

Now tell me - how would you feel, after returning home from a photographic assignment, to find blood smeared around your house and your husband missing? I know I would be much more upset than Sophie was. Instead, she leaves England and returns home to America where she quickly becomes embroiled in all kinds of questionable events beginning with an art show of Faberge imperial eggs, suspicious people, dealings with the CIA and stories about Russian oil. There is a vast array of characters and, while they were all pleasant enough we didn’t get to have the good luck to visit with them long. There were parts of the novel I enjoyed and I hope future books in this series will see Ellen Crosby tighten her plot and characters a bit.mystery spy wom-2019-reading-challenge1 Ellen CollierAuthor 6 books88

Interesting premise and story with lots of action, mystery and international intrigue. If you Russian history mixed with politics, espionage and art history, you'll be immersed in this thriller. The heroine seemed smart and strong, perhaps a bit too perfect, and the lush and long descriptions of extraneous details bogged down the plot at times. I've visited D.C. and wish I'd seen all the areas and places the author describes at length. An enjoyable, exciting and sophisticated mystery.1 Carlos Mock804 8

Multiple Exposure (Sophie Medina, #1) by Ellen Crosby (Hardcover)

This is the first in a series of Sophie Medina books. However, it is a stand-alone book.

"To know the Rusian soul was key to understanding how a people could endure so much suffering and despair over centuries of history - much of the cruelty self-inflicted - yet nevertheless possess great resilience, compassion, and inner strength." p. 188

Sophie Medina returns to her London home from an assignment with the International Press Service (IPS) only to discover that her husband, Nicholas (Nick) Cunning has been kidnapped. Nick, a geologist and CIA undercover agent, and his boss, Colin Crown - CEO of Crown Energy - were in Abadistan, Russia exploring for oil.

Faced with the possibility of losing her husband, Sophie moves back to Washington DC, and gets a job with Luke Santangelo of Focus Photography. She was recommended by her former boss at IPS, Perry DiNardo. Their first job was photographing an exposition at the National Gallery in DC. Katya Gordon has collected Two of the famous Faberge eggs and has an exclusive expo to showcase them. At the exposition, Sophie is cornered by the Russian billionaire tycoon, Arkady Vasiliev, who is dating Katya's daughter, Lara Gordon. Vasiliev says Nick is alive and has documents exposing where there are vast amounts of oil somewhere in Abadistan and thinks that Sophie knows where her husband is and where the plans are. Vasiliev is the owner of the biggest oil company in Russia and wants that oil for himself. She also overhears a conversation between an American and a Russian on how to kill Taras Altar - An Abadistanian author and politician - fighting to get independence from Russia. He is staying with Scott Hathaway the Senate majority leader and his pretentious wife, Roxanne Lane Hathaway. Taras and the Senator went together to Georgetown and have been close friends since.

Three months later she is shocked when Lord Allingham (Bas), a friend in the British government says Nick was spotted in Moscow and is now not only a suspect in his boss’s murder but also potentially involved in illicit Russian oil deals. With her every move now closely watched Sophie moves around D.C. trying to figure out what is really going on.

Assigned to CIA agent Napoleon Duval, Nick is now also the suspect in the killing of his handler. Not knowing who to trust, Sophie must follow her instincts trying to decipher the truth. Aided by a few of her longtime trusted friends, Father Jack O'Hara, SJ - a high school love interest - and Washington Reporter's journalist, Grace Lowe, she must use all of her wits to uncover the truth and possibly save her husband.

Narrated from Sophie's first-person point of view this is a fast-paced, hard-to-put-down, fun, and witty read. The plot has many twists and turns and will keep you guessing until the last page. The characters are alive and come out of the page. You can't help rooting for Sophie all the way.

I enjoyed it very much and recommend it highly. I also plan to read the next two books in the series. (I've already read book three and even though it's a stand-alone book, I wish I had read them in the order they were written.) Anne, Unfinished Woman1,223

SPOILER ALERT

Sophie Medina and Nicholas Canning are happily married, living in London. She is a photojournalist with International Press Service, and he an American oil executive, with Crowne Energy, and is also an operative for the CIA. When she returns from a recent assignment she finds copious blood in the apartment and her husband gone. The CEO of the company has been killed. As she pursues what has happened she is approached by other CIA persons and told that Nick has been seen in Moscow. Then other places. She returns to Washington DC, and takes a job with another photographer, Luke Santangelo, Focus Photography, who is scheduled to photograph the exhibit "Empire of the Firebird", two Faberge' eggs and other paintings and art owned by Arkady Vasiliev. He was known to her husband, and owns the biggest oil producing company in Russia, wanting to expand. Crowne Energy involved in oil exploration had discovered a wildcat site of new oil. Vasiliev is after the well logs. He believes that Nick is alive and Sophie knows where he is or the logs are.

At the exhibit Sophie overhears a conversation between a Russian and an American, that plots an assassination and implicates a Senator, Scott Hathaway. Sophie believes that Taras Attar, poet and author is the target, though he and Hathaway have been friends since college. As the story progresses secrets are revealed involving the curator of the exhibit, Katya Gordon, Roxanne Hathaway and others, involving infidelity and a disappearance of Hathaway's girlfriend, Jenna. There are photos, blackmail and revenge in the picture. Eventually Nick returns and turns over the logs, which leaves the position of the oil find up in the air. The betrayal of their friend Baz, Lord Allingham decides their move to DC permanently.

The story is filled with the history of photojournalism, the political issues of Russia and the oil industry. This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.Show full reviewauthor-american espionage-spy genre-fiction ...more Jenny WheelerAuthor 50 books79

Ellen Crosby managed to interlace historical intrigue with contemporary action very cleverly in the Wine Country series and she continues adeptly to do the same in Sophie Medina Book One. Described by one reviewer as high society meet high stakes international intrigue, Multiple Exposure gives us Sophie the photojournalist who comes back from an international job to find oil executive husband Nick has disappeared from their blood stained Hampstead cottage. Three months later and no word, and then reports surface that he's been spotted alive in Russia. Soon Sophie is being tracked by the righteous and the unrighteous - from Government special security to Russian thugs - all convinced she knows where her husband, and valuable information he may hold, can be found.
I enjoy the convincing settings Crosby creates, the glimpses of worlds the average reader is unly to ever see, the significant action that takes place at the National Gallery of Art Romanov exhibition which includes special Faberge eggs.
I read well into the night, unwilling to close it before reaching the end, and I'm keen now to get my hands on Book Two. Lee Ann50 1 follower

First book in the Sophie Medina mystery series. Well thought out plot that has the reader guessing. Story line has many facets to it and includes political intrigue in more than one country, art history, some cloak and dagger and espionage.

Sophie discovers her husband is missing and it looks he has been kidnapped. While following that trail she receives information that leads her to believe that he is alive. Then various agencies in two governments tell her that he is alive, and not being held captive but is wanted as a possible spy. Sophie's emotions, and her faith and belief in her husband keep her engaged in trying to find him without leading authorities to him. Looking forward to future books. Vontel2,313 10

Interesting new series by an established author. I happened to run across the second book, Ghost Images, first & enjoyed it, so requested the first volume. I've just read the first introductory book, which certainly is action-packed. Now that I've finished it, I need to take a scan of the second book again, since some of my memories of what was told about her earlier history in London seem to be different from the facts in this book.

I do hope there are new volumes coming in the Sophie Medina series. It's been 5 years since the last one, & only 2 years between the first ones. Elise Kind159 8

An exciting first Sophie Medina thriller that will keep you on the edge of your until the last page. What has happened to Sophie’s husband CIA operative Nick Canning. He’s been seen in Russia and London, at least people think it’s Nick, but is it really him. As days turn into weeks Sophie’s husband doesn’t, contact her. Are these pictures really Nick? Soon Nicks best friend is found murdered. Who murdered Colin and why was he killed. Could Nick do such a thing?
Give this first thriller by Ellen Crosby a try. You won’t be able to put it down.
Michele Frazier234

This was a first time read for this author. Thought it was a well done story. Started out with a huge mystery and a lot of blood. Sophie is a photographer in London living with her husband Nick who is covertly with the CIA. When Nick goes missing, reports of his death cause Sophie to move back to Washington, D.C. to be closer to her family. The real mystery begins once she is back in the states. Nice little mystery! agents anglophiles cia ...more Emily Higgins1,790 6

Sophie Medina's husband, Nick, appears to have been kidnapped. When several weeks pass, the assumption is that he is dead. Then, Sophie is told that Nick has been spotted in Russia and is suspected of murder. Sophie decides to move back to the U.S., but the puzzle of her husband's disappearance follows her to DC.suspense Karen1,770 38

This was an interesting look at Russian politics, despite the country being fictional.

I enjoyed the information on Washington DC and the Faberge imperial eggs.

The characters are able and the plot was captivating.

I will read more of this series.

I borrowed a copy from the public library.book-1-in-series library-copy mysterybooks Linda Smatzny2,997 29

A spy thriller that starts in London but finishes in Washington, D.C.. It features Sophie Medina, a photojournalist, as the main character who is married to Nick, a CIA operative. Lots of people seem concerned about Sophie and Nick but all is not what it seems. The book was a quick easy read. Donna79 1 follower

Loved this book and can't wait to start the next Lori2,225

Ok Curtis Coats22

A fun read. Had me guessing till the end. Look forward to her next book in the series. Andy Plonka3,627 15

It is difficult to tell the good guys from the baddies in this one, but the story moves along at breakneck speed.src Kaye Baldwin122 1 follower

3.5books-read-2023 Arlette Mooney400 4

I “read” this one as an audiobook. A very interesting story, too much “on your nose” narrative. A good suspense, not great, story. Rounded up on a 3.5 star review. Roxanne Jensen347 2

Camara detective. mystery Ryan Mishap3,484 68

Mashing up the international spy/corporate espionage and mystery genres is a grand idea. While this was decent, I wasn't enthralled by the narrative. mystery-crime Adriana Medina49 2

This was my first Sophie Medina mystery, and wow! Such a great read. It was suspenseful from beginning to end, great, solid characters and a great female lead. Plot was great, too. You can tell that Ellen Crosby put a lot of thought and research into this story given the different settings our characters were in throughout the entire story (London, Washington, Russia, etc.).

Overall, a great mystery/thriller for sure, has a little bit of everything for everyone. crime-fiction mystery Libraryassistant420

Autor del comentario:
=================================