Books
Theasa Tuohy, a seasoned novelist, journalist, and playwright, has built a compelling literary career that spans genres and eras, capturing strong female protagonists and richly detailed settings. From her debut novel, The Five O’Clock Follies, set in the Vietnam War, to Flying Jenny, which explores the daring world of female stunt pilots in the 1920s, Tuohy has continually showcased her talent for blending historical authenticity with gripping narratives. In her latest series, “The Paris Backstage Murders,” Tuohy introduces readers to a Paris brimming with mystery and charm. Beginning with The Woman at Le Gare de l’Est and continuing with her newest release, Mademoiselle le Sleuth, she masterfully intertwines suspense and humor in stories that transport readers to the enchanting and unpredictable streets of Paris.
“The story you’re looking for if you want a fun mystery with quirky characters. I loved this book from the very first page to the last.”
— ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Kathryn Dare, Manhattan Book Review
New from Theasa Tuohy
Mademoiselle
le Sleuth
In the heart of Paris, three women and a spirited child are unexpectedly pulled into a whirlwind of mystery and danger. What starts with a stubborn 4½-year-old’s refusal to pack her Bugs Bunny suitcase soon escalates into a high-stakes drama involving a stolen purse, a murder at le Gare de l’Est, and a series of strange events—kidnappings, a missing actor, and a ransacked apartment.
With the help of a charming detective and the clever young girl, who quickly earns a reputation as the “Eloise of Four-Year-Old detectives,” they piece together a complex puzzle that leads them to an international art theft ring. Set against the vivid backdrop of Parisian streets and landmarks, Mademoiselle le Sleuth is a captivating mystery that blends suspense, humor, and the allure of Paris, keeping readers guessing until the very end.
The Woman at la Gare de l’Est
It’s Paris, and it sizzles. Over four stifling August days, Three women and a child are caught up in an international sting when the 4 1/2-year-old refuses to let her nanny pack her Bugs Bunny suitcase for a weekend trip from Paris to Prague. At the Gare de l’Est, a snatched purse and murder intervene. Upheaval follows, yet the women are slow to connect the events at the gare to two more murders, kidnap attempts, an actor gone missing, a ransacked apartment and a stolen suitcase. Only after a sexy Paris homicide detective alerts them that they’ve run afoul of an international art-theft ring does each come up with an answer to a piece of the puzzle, aided and abetted by the kid one cop calls the Eloise of Four-Year-Old detectives.
The novel isetched in the vibrant colors of Paris streets and neighborhoods from the Apple Store at the Louvre, to the Hotel de Ville merry-go-round, to the city morgue.
Flying Jenny
“Set in 1929, this is a story of female friendship and empowerment, a story of self-discovery.” ―Kirkus Reviews
People are doing all sorts of screwy things in 1929. It is a time of hope, boundless optimism, and prosperity. “Blue Skies” is the song on everyone’s lips. The tabloids are full of flagpole sitters, flappers, and marathon dancers. Ever since Charles Lindbergh flew across the Atlantic solo, the entire world has gone nuts over flying. But everyone agrees that the stunt pilots take the cake.
Jenny Flynn defies the odds and conventions in her pursuit of the sky. She attracts the attention of Laura Bailey, a brash reporter crashing through her own glass ceiling at a New York City newspaper. Laura chases the pilot’s story―and the truth about her own mysterious father―on a barnstorming escapade from Manhattan to the Midwest.
Flying Jenny is a vivid portrait of an earlier time when airplanes drew swarming crowds entranced by the pioneers―male and female―of flight.
Five O’Clock Follies
In her brilliant debut novel, longtime daily journalist Theasa Tuohy captures the essence of what drives those who go into war armed only with a camera, notebook, and pen. At a time when women rarely dreamed beyond careers as nurses, teachers, or secretaries and certainly not as news reporters, a tall, enigmatic redhead arrives in Saigon. She is an object of great interest to the male correspondents, one of whom reports she arrived at Tan Son Nhut Airport wearing? High heeled bikini shoes? Few take her seriously as a reporter. To most, she is a trifle, a bobble, a lagniappe. Angela Martinelli survives a chopper crash, spends several days in the bunkers of the so-called Alamo Hilton during the siege of Khe Sanh, is captured briefly by the Viet Cong while trying to make her own way to the battle of Hue after being refused a hop on a military chopper because she isn?t male, and finally is badly wounded when a jeepload of other correspondents are killed in Cholon, the Chinese quarter of Saigon. Her life, loves and struggle to prove herself chronicle the deterioration of the war, the strategic battles around the Tet offensive, and the conflict raging back home over the conduct of the war. Not since Graham Greene has anyone captured so well the tedium and terror of reporting on war.
