Julia Kelly (3)Rezensionen

Secrets

Women

This was an enthralling read. I was completely wrapped up in the characters and the writing. One of those wonderful books that you wish would never end.

This historical fiction highlights one of the most difficult times for parents before and during WWII when children were evacuated from English cities to the countryside to keep them safe from the bombings. Raised in Liverpool by a rigidly Catholic mother and weak father, Viv Byrne becomes pregnant after briefly dating an inspiring jazz musician in 1935. Compounding Viv's mother's horror about the shame of having an unmarried pregnant daughter is that the father, Joshua, is Jewish. The mother crafts a scheme to remove Josha from Viv's life just minutes after their wedding, which he accepts. He leaves his devastated pregnant wife to pursue a music career in NYC. It's difficult to decide who is more despicable: Viv's mother for offering the bribe or Joshua for accepting it. This is a choice he will come to regret.

Shortly before WWII, Viv is forced by her parish priest and her parents to send her 4-year-old daughter, Maggie, to live in the safety of the countryside with the affluent, childless Thompsons. At the same time, Joshua has returned from his failed attempt to gain acclaim as a musician and has returned to England to train for the RAF. Their paths will cross again when they reunite for the sake of their daughter in unusual circumstances.½

Predictable, pleasant reading even if a little confusing with all the jumping around in time.

Tale of 5 women connected across time by a garden. 1907/1944/2021. It kept me interested to read on.

Liverpool 1939-45. Viv raised in a cold , Catholic home finds herself pregnant after a fling and the boy is Jewish. They marry and on the courthouse steps ViV’s mother offers Joshua money to leave and he takes it and goes. Thus begins a very interesting story . War breaks out. Viv defies her rigid Catholic parents and gets a job. Then the evacuation of children begins and with much anguish, Viv sends Maggie with the parish priest to be placed with a childless couple in the countryside. This couple treat Maggie very well…she becomes the daughter they never had All this makes for a hugely interesting story. The Catholics are the bad guys. Doctrine and image are more important than love and nurturing which we find in Joshua’s Jewish family. This novel describes life in a port city ( Liverpool) during wartime and jobs women took like Viv did delivering mail as a “postie”. There is a twist, when we find out Maggie did not die in a bombing.
A good read. As a Catholic I found the heavy blame but on the faith tough but a fair rendition of what some devotees can be like .½

This is simply not a book for me. Seems basically a romance. I forced myself to read half but then couldn't take anymore.

Ah, a good old fashioned murder mystery, set in Churchill’s London during WWII will keep you on your toes and guessing until the end. Well written with plucky characters and subplots that keep driving the main, this is a definite read for you mystery fans out there!
*I received an arc from the publisher through NetGalley for an honest review

Well that feels like a mistake.

Just...every negative trope you can think of was thrown in here.

Slut shaming - yep! Though mostly from the Norton family and the butler
Inferiority complex - ho boy was there ever, on both the Governess and Doctor's part.
Anachronistic behaviors - most of the time I'll overlook this, but it was so heavy here.

Possibly the most upsetting part is THIS IS NOT A REGENCY. Holy hell. I don't mean because it gets racy, I mean because its literally set 30 years AFTER the nominal "Regency" period ended. This is a VICTORIAN historical romance (they mention the Queen several freaking times).

I really enjoyed this book! It was well written and I liked all of the characters. The author did a great job incorporating the lives of three women simultaneously.
On the cusp of WWII three friends find themselves dealing with difficult situations. Socialite Nora is enjoying her work at the Home Office's Air Raid Precautions Department. She has wonderful ideas but is never taken seriously. Hazel, a matchmaker is struggling with her own marriage. Marie is of German descent and is scared of being imprisoned. Marie lives with her aunt, uncle and cousin. Unfortunately, her cousin doesn't like her and sends incriminating evidence to the Foreign and Commonwealth office. Marie goes to live with Nora which causes Nora to lose her job. Hazel and her husband, Nathaniel decide to get divorced and she ends up living with Nora and Marie. One officer in particular shows up wherever Marie is. Nora and Hazel decide they need to get Marie out of the country. They get her fake papers and boat passage to Canada. Marie is heartsick to leave her friends but knows she must. She barely makes it on time but she does and she's safe. Nora joins the Wrens and they all continue with their lives.
There is also a sweet love story mixed in between Marie and a man named Richard. They do end up together!

Thanks to Minotaur Books & NetGalley for a digital advance reader's copy. All comments and opinions are my own.

This was a top-notch historical mystery novel! Skillfully and accurately written, I couldn’t stop reading. I adored the charming main character, Evelyne, and was sorry when I finished the book. So glad this is the first of a coming series. Can’t wait for more!

The murder mystery is cleverly constructed, taking place during World War II just as the bombs begin to fall in London. Evelyne has been hired as a secretary in Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s cabinet war rooms (CWR), the underground bunkers where everyone has secrets and no one can be trusted. Soon after Evelyne discovers a murdered colleague, she grudgingly teams up with David Poole, who turns out to be a (handsome) undercover government agent seeking the mole who is selling government secrets.

They are an “oil and water” couple, who reluctantly admit they need each other in order to find the murderer and the mole. Although Evelyne has no formal investigative training, her passion for detective fiction sharpens her skills in solving the murder. At the beginning of the novel she tells the reader, “You see, I simply adore detective fiction. Each new story contains within it the tantalizing possibility of a puzzle so fiendishly twisted that the solution may elude me until the final pages.”

An engaging reason I liked Evelyne was how she felt about books, not just detective fiction. She makes sure to bring five novels with her for her 3-day shift in the CWR, telling the reader, “I could go without many things during a time of war, but I could not abide the thought of being without books.”

The theme of books reoccurs as David and Evelyne spar over which novels are better – American detective fiction or British mysteries such as Agatha Christie’s. These small bits give the novel extra personality and charm and kept me turning the pages.

If you’re looking for an engaging World War II murder mystery with a hint of romance and the promise of future novels, this is the book for you. I highly recommend!

Evelyne is a very likeable protagonist with an interesting backstory. For me, the first part of the narrative had me wanting to know more about her backstory, rather than her somewhat implausible incorporation into an investigation of espionage in Churchill's underground war cabinet rooms attached to Whitehall. Clearly, Author Kelly knows how to write an engaging novel but doesn't follow through with this promising beginning.

With no training and little awareness of what her recruiter expected, Evie barrelled through this adventure like the proverbial loose cannon. Wild speculation and over-riding her more senior colleague created unconvincing situations which made for a flawed narrative. If the reader has a frequent Say What?! reaction, the allure of losing oneself in the story isn't realized. The resulting chase after a murderer, and discoveries during the investigation, lost some attraction because of my sense that the MC's position in the story was too contrived. However, this flaw didn't interfere with my wanting to see how the adventure played out. I am on the fence about whether to put any effort in reading a follow up to this first book.

Evelyn Redfern comes from a notorious family that had Evelyn in the middle of a child custody case.

When her mother died, and her father didn’t want her, she became known as the Paris Orphan.

To ease her situation, Evelyn found solace in reading mysteries.

It was good she liked to solve mysteries, because as she was working in Winston Churchhill‘s Cabinet War Rooms as a secretary, she became involved in the investigation of a murder of one of her fellow typists since she was the one who found her dead.

Evelyn and David Poole teamed up to do investigating .

It dragged on a bit, but we had the pleasure of being treated for a longer time to Ms. Kelly's descriptive writing and enjoyable story line. 4/5

Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

A Traitor in Whitehall is an historical mystery by Julia Kelly set in England in 1940. The main protagonist, Evelyne Redfern, is working in a munitions factory when an old friend of her father’s offers her a new job as a secretary in Winston Churchill’s underground war room. She isn’t there long when she stumbles upon a murder. Although a police investigation is ongoing, Evelyne, an avid mystery reader, embarks on her own investigation. She runs up against David Poole, a Minister’s aide investigating recent leaks to the Germans. But she quickly convinces him she can go places he can’t and she becomes his assistant/partner.

To be honest, I have to say I have mixed feelings about the book. On the pro side, I always enjoy a bit of actual history mixed into historical fiction and Kelly provides some very interesting details of life in wartime as well as the underground war room including the ever-present mice and rats. For the most part, the story moves at a fast pace and the mystery was interesting. I also listened to the audiobook version and the narrator did a fine job.

On the con side, although, as I said, the story moved at a decent pace, there were some draggy parts but that didn’t bother me too much. My biggest problem was the premise itself. For me, it often is a huge stretch of my willing suspension of disbelief that a protagonist, armed with nothing more than a voracious consumption of mystery novels can solve mysteries that confound all the experts. I can accept it in a typical British cozy because there is usually a sly tongue-in-cheek humour to them. Not so here. I just couldn't buy into the premise that someone with no expertise would be allowed to pretty much take over an investigation at the highest level of national security especially during war time.

But that’s just me. I’ve read many other reviews and most people seem to have really enjoyed it. Not to say I hated it. There were parts of the book I Iiked and I was able to finish it so three stars it is.

I received an audiobook version of this book from Netgalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review.

The Publisher Says: From Julia Kelly, internationally bestselling author of The Last Dance of the Debutante, comes the first in the mysterious and immersive Parisian Orphan series, A Traitor in Whitehall.

1940, England: Evelyne Redfern, known as “The Parisian Orphan” as a child, is working on the line at a munitions factory in wartime London. When Mr. Fletcher, one of her father’s old friends, spots Evelyne on a night out, Evelyne finds herself plunged into the world of Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s cabinet war rooms.

However, shortly after she settles into her new role as a secretary, one of the girls at work is murdered, and Evelyne must use all of her amateur sleuthing expertise to find the killer. But doing so puts her right in the path of David Poole, a cagey minister’s aide who seems determined to thwart her investigations. That is, until Evelyne finds out David’s real mission is to root out a mole selling government secrets to Britain’s enemies, and the pair begrudgingly team up.

With her quick wit, sharp eyes, and determination, will Evelyne be able to find out who’s been selling England’s secrets and catch a killer, all while battling her growing attraction to David?

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: Period details FTW. I was reading along thinking how little I actually knew about life in WWII when the main character finds a body in a place I had no vaguest awareness of the need for or existence of: A sun treatment room.

A what now? Sun-treatment? What on Earth is that?

It was about that time that my interest and pleasure in the read sharpened to the point of reading past my bedtime. I'm a mystery fan anyway, being a big believer in ma'at and the scales of justice needing to be balanced. The victim of the murder wasn't a lovely person, as is customary in series mysteries set in the Halls of Power. It was a lovely grace note, the first of several, that the victim was discovered in the sun-treatment room. This afforded the author a perfect opening to reveal this very interesting, perfectly sensible detail's existence. It gives the story an extra gloss of period authenticity, as does Evelyne's Agatha Christie-reading habit. The author's an experienced historical novelist and it shows in these sorts of unexpected moments that firmly root the story in time without becoming stodged up like a research paper gone metastatic.

Evelyne, our main character, is an oddball in the world where she's been plonked because nothing in her background suggests she's a prospect for Greater Things...an unwanted daughter placed in a boarding school by her always-absent father after her mother's death when Evelyne was thirteen, she's been given few solid opportunities to develop her intellect beyond the ordinary. As is typical for series mysteries, as fans of the genre know, she's got the most important character trait of a sleuth: Ungovernable curiosity, starting from when her Maman (a French lady, who raised her daughter mostly in France) supposedly committed suicide. Luckily her absent rich-bastard father's friend circle includes powerful people who need that precise characteristic in a woman of presentable lineage (if always stained by the loucheness of her foreignness), adequate education, fluency in French, and unexceptionable looks.

Evelyne's sudden arrival in the bunkers...referred to by the acronym "CWR" or "Cabinet War Rooms"...of busy workers surrounding the Prime Minister isn't cause for anyone to take much notice, exactly as the Powers That Be need it to be. She blends into the scenery. As her job is to ferret out a traitor who's already established in those hallowed halls, everything's proceeding acording to plan.

Until someone's murdered. (There's a reason I'm being coy about who's been murdered. If you know too soon, there's no way you won't know who the titular traitor is.) The murder makes everything higher stakes and involves Evelyne with the inevitable love interest, David. Another facet of the series mystery is the de rigueur presence of a love interest or interests. David's clearly being positioned for this. This is, for me, the least interesting facet of the story. How would David, a senior aide established in the hierarchy, even think to team up with Evelyne, a mere girl and of known-but-stained ancestry? In 1940s Britain? That high in the Government (even if it's not quite the way we're led to believe)? Hmm, said my inner skeptic. Most especially I find the borning relationship between them Doomed because David prefers American thrillers to Evelyne's beloved Mrs. Christie. This is a less bridgeable gap than between a reader and a mundane.

While the usual first-mystery flaws are present, eg too much information comes too easily into Evelyne's grasp for her position in the hierarchy and people "grit" and "roar" things far too often, the author is clearly a skilled storyteller. The TV adaptation unspooled before my eyes, in six-part ITV period-mystery glory. It's the kind of book one reads with keen pleasure in its strengths, and forgives its lapses readily. At least this picky one did.

If you're in the market for historical mysteries, this one will scratch the itch. Nothing too deep, nothing too fluffy, just the right level of interesting background and emotional investment possibilities. Bring the sequel!

A Traitor in Whitehall is a good start to a new series by this talented author. Set in one of my favorite historical periods, full of intrigue, espionage, danger, murder and relationships between people that are not always what they seem. Women who are pushed out of their comfort zones and learn they are remarkably brave, strong and capable. References to actual figures in history like Winston Churchill that bring depth to the story.

Evelyne Redfern has barely gotten past the notoriety of being “The Parisian Orphan” and has settled into a boring job supporting the war effort, living in cramped but acceptable lodgings with her roommate and friends. Out of nowhere an old friend of her father’s swoops in and recruits her for a hush-hush position which on the surface is merely a secretary but is really to be “the eyes and ears” in the world of Prime Minister Churchill’s cabinet war rooms.

A Traitor in Whitehall is fast-paced and populated with interesting characters, taking Evelyne from the drudgery of her old job to an exciting though dangerous position right in the middle of things. She doesn’t know who she can trust and when one of her co-workers is mysteriously murdered things heat up. Everybody seems suspicious, especially newcomer David Poole, a minister’s aide who seems determined to butt heads with her and disrupt her investigative progress at every turn. But is there also some attraction there?

Thanks to St. Martin’s Minotaur MacMillan for providing an advance copy of A Traitor in Whitehall via NetGalley. I enjoyed it and look forward to the next book in the series. I voluntarily leave this review; all opinions are my own.

While Julia Kelly’s debut mystery novel has merit, it also has a few shortcomings that require a mixed review. The setting is wartime London during the blitz. The mechanics of how the British government actually “carried on” underground during this tumultuous time is not widely known and certainly makes for a unique, yet claustrophobic, setting. The characters occasionally get out to enjoy their lives aboveground, but most of the action takes place in a warren of dark, vermin-infested, and smelly rooms where gossip and interpersonal tensions seem to be common. Kelly skillfully weaves in historical details and events, creating an immersive backdrop for her story. Her descriptions of the period, its politics, and locations in London are vivid enough to evoke the world that her characters inhabit.

With the exception of the protagonist, Evelyne Redfern, and her investigative partner, David Poole, the diverse bunch of minor characters does not seem nuanced enough to be very realistic. They are a straight up mix of allies and potential foes. While Evelyne’s journey from naivety to competence is a fascinating arc and a strength of the novel, some of her transformations and actions seem somewhat unbelievable. For instance, it is hard to see how an avid reader of detective fiction could acquire the skill set required to become a Clouseau of Poirot. It's crucial for readers to be able to connect with and believe in the protagonist's journey, and if that connection is lacking, it can mar the overall reading experience. This is particularly true for series novels that follow characters through multiple adventures. Clearly, Kelly has plans for such a series with these characters.

The teamwork between Evelynne and David Poole also seems problematic. It's essential for such collaborations to feel organic and not forced. If the teamwork feels contrived, it can undermine the credibility of the story. The chemistry or cooperation between Evelynne and David didn't resonate for me. They just seemed like a couple of young people on a first date, or scavenger hunt. He seemed a bit too dull, and she was way too smart.

The pacing was uneven at times, with the plot meandering in places and then rushing through others. I lost interest during the slower parts while others seemed too rushed to allow me to absorb important plot points. The resolution of the mystery is a case in point. It was hurried with key points seeming to have been cut from whole cloth. A couple of examples were the solution to the code, and the discovery of the love nest. Moreover, Evelynne’s opportunity for future work seemed farfetched, yet probably would be a necessary prerequisite since Kelly plans a series of novels based on a collaboration between Evelynne and David.

Intrepid, intelligent woman takes on Whitehall!

Fantastic. A great new series set in World War II with a strong female lead. I know there’s been a plethora of these cropping up but let me tell you I read this into the wee hours of the morning.
Evelyne Redfern is a brilliant character. A character with a past established early on. The ‘Paris Orphan’ the newspapers called her as a child. She was part of a high profile custody battle that raged across the Chanel divide for two years, until her mother died supposedly by suicide. As a child Evelyne always felt something was wrong, but who listens to a thirteen year old child? Maman was French. (And yes, Evelyne is fluent in French) Her father was Sir Reginald Redfern, a high society adventurer and womanizer, who didn’t change his spots once he was married.
After her mothers death Sir Reginald gathered up Evelyne and dropped her at an exclusive Boarding School. Evelyne maybe saw her father twice after that. He’s still alive and apparently somewhere in Mexico.
Through fortuitous circumstances Evelyne comes to work and observe in Whitehall. She’s due for sun lamp treatment. When she goes there she discovers a body in the lamp room. I know! (I was interested to read about why people would need such treatment when working in Whitehall.)
One thing leads to another and Evelyne finds herself investigating alongside David Poole, although at first he thought she was taking notes. Ha! Not our girl! Did I mention that she’s a fan of Agatha Christie et. al. David’s more a fan of the American gumshoe type detective like Sam Spade. Makes for some light hearted exchange!
The ending was not surprising, although what was going on was.
Evelyne is a character easy to relate to.
I foresee endless possibilities for further titles in this series, so here’s hoping more follow!

A Minotaur invitation ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.

The Cabinet War Rooms in London were occupied by the most important government officials and Prime Minister Winston Churchill during WWII and became the nerve center of Britain's war machine. I have visited the war rooms and it was very interesting to see the small well fortified rooms where so many of the important decisions were made. A Traitor in Whitehall involves a murder and information that is being sold to the Germans from the War Rooms.

Evelyne is working at a munitions factory in London when she is recruited to be a typist in the War Rooms. She's a well written character who always has a book - usually a mystery - in her hands and doesn't appreciate being made to fell 'less than' by the men she encounters at her job. She has a past that was well known throughout the land due to a very public custody fight between her Parisian mother and her jet set English father and was referred to as the Parisian orphan. It's a nickname that people she meets still remember and even though she has put her past behind her, people still bring it up. Just as she's getting used to her new job in the typing pool, she discovers the body of one of the other typists dead from a knife in her throat. She also finds out that there is a mole working in the War Rooms that is passing critical information to the enemy.
She's pretty feisty and starts asking questions to the point that the man investigation the security leaks agrees to let her work with him. She and David make a good team and together work on both the murder and the security breach. She's great because if he ever tries to treat her as 'just a woman' she comes back at him with a reminder of how crucial she is to their investigation.

So we have Evelyne with a past that everyone knows about, an addiction to mystery stories and a growing attraction to David, working to catch a killer and a traitor and sometimes putting her own life in danger.
She's a great character and I loved her inquisitive mind and the fact that she always has a book close at hand.
The story line is dramatic and moves along at a good pace. There are several suspects and finding out who the bad guy (s) are kept me guessing until the end.

I was quite excited when I found out that this is the first book in a new series called Persian Orphan. Evelyne and David are both characters that I want to read more about and to follow their exploits during war time in England. I hope it isn't too long of a wait for book 2!

Evie Redfern is working at a munitions factory in London in the mystery set in 1940. She is a university graduate who had been working in advertising before the war began. As a child she was known as the Parisian Orphan because the custody battle between her English father and French mother made headlines. After her mother's death when she was thirteen, her father dumped her into an English private school and more-or-less abandoned her.

One evening Evie meets Mr. Fletcher who was a friend of her parents during their Parisian days. He offers her a job working in the Cabinet War Rooms in the typing pool. He wants to get an undercover viewpoint of what is going on there. Very soon after her arrival, she discovers the body of one of her fellow typists and, not having a high opinion of the men sent to investigate the murder, decides to investigate herself. After all, she has had the experience of reading countless mysteries by such luminaries as Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers.

She also finds herself working with David Poole who has been sent to investigate a number of leaks that have made their way to Germany. It seems apparent to both of them that the murder and the leaks are related.

The story was well written and engaging. I liked the World War II setting complete with nightly bombings, ration books, and other privations. I liked Evie's intelligence and curiosity. I liked the way she worked with David Poole and the banter between them.

Since this seems to be the start of a new series, I am looking forward to more adventures for Evie and David.

Worth reading.½

I really enjoyed this story of the secret underground bunker where the war effort was being fought. When I was finished, I sure wouldn't have wanted to work there, but it gave a great idea of what these people were going through to defeat the evil that was overrunning Europe.
We put faces to these people and I could just picture fresh on the job Evelyne, and she is putting her sharp mind to work, in more ways than one.
There is a slight romance beginning, but it is so beginning you really don't realize. David Poole and Evelyne are in some was thrust together and end up feeling each other out in the quest for answers to a murder, and the leaking of secrets.
You soon find yourself ducking the bombs that are rocking their underground conclave, and then we see the destruction!
The answers come, was I surprised, yes, but some were questionable in the beginning, but this does become complex, but there is an enemy to be fought.
Now I can't wait for the next book in this series!
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher St. Martin's Press, and was not required to give a positive review.

1940, London, historical-novel, historical-figures, historical-places-events, historical-research, historical-setting, cozy-mystery, amateur-sleuth, bibliophilia, The Blitz, secrets, traitor, blackmail, friendship, friends, friction, family-history, murder, murder-investigation, double-agent*****

She witnessed a murder before the book was at 1%!
Then the story does a backtrack into her earlier life and her current placement in a highly restricted area where she is subject to the Official Secrets Act. Pick up thread of murder and she is voluntarily seconded to a man higher in the pecking order than the military investigators (who are a bit dim and predisposed in their conclusions). They form a respectful alliance and do their own investigating/sleuthing. I hope that this turns into a series!
I requested and received an EARC from St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

I thoroughly enjoy reading well-researched historical fiction. Add a mystery to the mix, and I am over the moon. This is author Julia Kelly's first foray into mystery writing. Being well acquainted with her fine historical writing, I had every expectation that this was going to be a wonderful read. I am delighted to report, that it was all that and more.

Miss Evelyn Redfern, "The Parisian Orphan" by newspaper accounts, is the adult daughter of Sir Reginald Redfern, a member of the Ton, who wanders to all corners of the earth with little to no interest in his daughter. However, being so well connected does have its perks as Evelyn is recognized by one of her father's school chums, Lionel Fletcher. Mr. Fletcher offers Evelyn the opportunity to meet which turns out to be a government job interview of a highly secretive nature. Through Fletcher's governmental duties, he is in need of an insider's observations of the goings on in the C.W.R. - Cabinet War Rooms - Churchill's underground war bunker. Evelyn is hired in for the C.W.R. typing pool. Shortly after her arrival, a fellow typist is found murdered. Being the armchair sleuth that she is, Evelyn is convinced that she could manage the investigation better than the local police who are obviously out of their element. Meanwhile, David Poole, assistant to the Minister of Information, has a mission of his own - finding the mole within. Could the mole also be the murderer? Evelyn and David make a tenuous alliance to work together in sussing out the clues. Their gender roles are constantly challenged as Evelyn chafes at the bit. Can they make this work? Will they be able to work it all out? Only time will tell.

Ms. Kelly has done a spectacular job of laying out the groundwork for this new mystery series. Her prose is elegant and at times, quite humorous. The research which went into this book is herculean and well delivered throughout the story. The tension builds gradually holding the reader in thrall until the story resolves itself into a most satisfying conclusion. If well-researched historical fiction with a mystery built in appeals, then I highly commend this book to you.

I am grateful to author Julia Kelly and her publisher, Minotaur Books, for having provided a complimentary uncorrected digital galley of this book through NetGalley. Their generosity, however, has not influenced this review - the words of which are mine alone.

Publisher: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: October 3, 2023
ISBN: 978-1250865489
No. of pages: 304