A delightful, classic English murder mystery set during the chaos of WWII London. It's 1940 and independent-minded Evelyne Redfern has landed a job as a typist in the government's secret underground war HQ. Working alongside cabinet ministers and even Prime Minister Winston Churchill, she quickly becomes embroiled in the murder of fellow typist Jean. But how can someone have killed her in a secure facility where everyone is carefully vetted? A lifelong fan of mystery novels, Evelyne ends up collaborating with gov't official David Poole, who is investigating the strange underground world of the war HQ. Soon it's Holmes and Watson, with Evelyne and David arguing about who's the brighter investigator. But who dunnit?

I found this a delightful read, very entertaining, and seemingly quite accurate to the era and situation in 1940 London during the very beginning of the Blitz. In more than one spot you will have to rev up your suspension of disbelief that Evelyne proves so wily and ingenious as she becomes more and more central to the investigation, but it's worth the effort. Recommended.

Thank you to @netgalley and @MinotaurBooks for this ARC. Evelyne Redfern has been recruited to work for the war effort under Churchill. On only the second day of work, she finds a dead body and leak within the network. With help of Mr. Poole, an unlikely coworker, they try to get to the bottom of the mystery. Cute story and love Julia Kelly's first mystery! #ATraitorinWhitehall #JuliaKelly #StMartinsPress #MinotaurBooks #October2023

I just loved this book! A Traitor in Whitehall is a fantastic historical mystery, set in World War II London, at the time of the Blitz. The character of Evelyn Redfern that Julia Kelly has created is both an intelligent, resourceful woman, and an excellent amateur detective. She has a new job as a typist in the underground cabinet war rooms of Winston Churchill, and soon finds that all is not as it seems. I loved that Evelyn was an avid reader of mystery novels, and that the story mentions many of the famous mystery writers of that time period. It is not often that a book pays such a wonderful tribute as this one does. The character development throughout the book is excellent. This is a well-researched book, with a complex, puzzling mystery. It captivated me from the first page and kept me guessing until the end! I hope that this becomes a series. I would love to read Evelyn's future adventures! A thank you to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for my advanced copy. The opinions of this review are my own.

Being honest here, Julia Kelly’s writing is not slaying me. This genre, London, WWII, is typically one of my favs and I’ve literally read at least 50 or so novels set in this era. Unfortunately, I’ve yet to read anything by Ms. Kelly that strikes me as anything other than trite. This latest is no exception, but it will be the last one I bother wandering into. The characters are all pathetically cliched and unrealistic, the dialogue is silly and the plot is ridiculous.

Nutshell summary: Evelyne Redfern is a young British gal, raised in Paris. She comes from a dysfunctional, yet somewhat privileged family. Somehow she received a uni education. She is living in a woman’s boarding house, working in a munitions factory. Out of the blue, at a party obviously, an old family friend recruits her for a job as typist/spy to work at Whitehall. Once she gets started there, she is first on scene to discover a murder of a coworker. She then somehow is taken into the confidence of a male coworker/investigator/secret agent and yet being absolutely n body special, she takes over the investigation, yada yada yada. It’s just so fantastically far fetched. The dialogue includes conversations between the two investigators, discussing highly confidential information at restaurants and other public places. And the murder investigation is all mushed up with the leak/traitor sub-plot…. The entire thing is a mess. It truly doesn’t come close to other books tackling the time period, events, or personalities. Sorry.

Thanks as always to NetGalley for providing me with the ARC in exchange for a timely 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!

Deep down underground scores of men and women work to protect England's secrets during World War II. Evelyne Redfern is approached to work as a secretary. Shortly after she begins her job, a woman is found murdered. Evelyne, with her love for mystery, decides to investigate. Because of the secrecy of their jobs, Evelyne realizes the murderer has to be someone inside the bunker, leaving a very limited group of suspects. Evelyne is quick witted and has an eye for solving the case. Looking forward to more of her adventures.

“A Traitor in Whitehall” is a mystery by Julia Kelly. I have to admit, I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to get with this book - but I found myself, after a few chapters, really getting into this. I found the play of Evelyne off of David to be fun banter. There were a few red herrings, some minor backstabbing, all with the background of WWII happening in London. I’m hoping this is the first in a series because I really want to follow these characters (and some of Evelyne’s friends) through more adventures.

I have read all of Julia Kelly's books, they are all good. this is the start of a series, if you like cozy mysteries, you will love it looking forward to more books in the series.

I enjoyed this book a lot and hope it is the first book in a series. Evelyne (the main character) is funny and smart with a tragic/notorious past and it makes for a good backstory! There is so much historical fiction set during World War II, but this story makes you feel like you are there and while you are trying to figure out the mystery, you're also feeling the devastation of London being bombed (and food shortages, etc).

It did feel like Evelyne was the main character and everyone else was clearly a sidekick or supporting character, which is true, but I would have appreciated learning more and hearing more from some of the other characters to add to their profiles. But, if this book is the first in a series, that is something that can hopefully be continued in the next book(s).

Overall, a well done new addition to the World War II historical fiction mysteries!

Our heroine, Evelyne Redfern, is recruited by a family friend to work as a typist in Churchill’s Cabinet War Rooms during the height of WWII and the London Blitz, with the caveat that she report back to her father’s friend. Soon after she starts, one of her fellow typists is murdered and it is also revealed that someone is smuggling out state secrets from one of the government’s most secure locations. As a devoted mystery/detective book reader Evelyne of course is determined to solve the murder, but she is also drawn into investigating who is the mole inside the CWR and if the two cases might be related, teaming up with the handsome Mr. David Poole who has been tasked by Intelligence to uncover the traitor.

I’ve visited the Cabinet War Rooms on a couple of occasions during trips to London so I could perfectly visualize the setting for the novel. Evelyne is a plucky, charming character and I hope that this is start of a new series by author Julia Kelly and that we will see her future work in British Intelligence in a series of upcoming books.

Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

Evelyne Redfern is asked by Mr. Fletcher, an old acquaintance, to take a job as a secretary in the prime minister's office. Mr. Fletcher is really asking her to be the ears of the office, however, and Evelyne takes the job.

The first week, Evelyne finds one of her co-workers from the copy room dead with a knife in her throat. The detectives ensure that is was an act of passion or jealousy, but Evelyne doesn't agree. She starts investigating behind the scenes and runs into David Poole, who is investigating a mole in the department. The two are reluctant to team up, but realize that is the only option to figure out both of their cases.

I liked this book. It was a historical mystery based around the WWII time period. Since I like historical fiction, especially books about WWII, this book was right up my alley. This book took off right away and didn't let up until it was over. It was almost like a "Who done it" type of book where Evelyne and David were constantly interviewing suspects, but the difference was that it was based around an old time period with an entirely different take then most books. While I did guess a bit about who did it, the final revelation caught me off guard a little bit.

I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from this author, or more from this series as it seems like it isn't over yet!

If you like cozy mysteries with the addition of historical fiction this book is for you. Our heroine is recruited by a friend of the family to work in Winston Churchill's cabinet war room during WWII. They suspect that one of the women who work typing up classified information is up to no good. Evelyne is charged with finding out who the spy is. After just a few days Evelyne finds one of her fellow workers murdered. There are many suspects! Evelyne is a voracious reader of mysteries and she uses all of what she has learned to find out who the murderer is. David Poole who also works in the cabinet room is in charge of the investigation. Although David tries to keep Evelyne out of the investigation he soon learns that she is a natural investigator and soon they are working together. There are many suspects and you will be kept guessing until the end. I have a feeling this might not be the last time Evelyne and David get together to solve another mystery. I also liked the description of how the workers lived during their shifts. Many books have been written about the women who were essential to Britain during the war, but not the day to day life.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur books for the opportunity to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review

I love all of Julia Kelly's books. This is the first time I have read an ARC of hers. There were a lot of typos and missing words, but the story was great. Can't wait for the sequel.

Thanks to Katie Holt & St, Martin’s Press for the ARC of this book It was an excellent read with a great plot set in London during World War II when the Germans were bombing nightly. The murder of a member of the typing pool plus the specter of treason bring two individuals together to investigate the crime. The twists and turns made it a fun read and characters were well developed in WWII London. Can’t spoil the ending but enjoyed it thoroughly.

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

For the most part this was an interesting beginning of a series. The setting in London during WWII and Churchill's war cabinet is well-known and well-portrayed. Although I enjoyed the independent heroine, I found the premise of her telling the PM's aide what to do lacking credibility. and somewhat cringe-worthy.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read A Traitor In Whitehall. I am a huge fan of Julia Kelly and this book did not disappoint!! This was a great story with characters that worked so well together! Miss Redfern is bright, brave and sassy! She is someone you want to hang out with. Mr. Poole is the perfect stoic partner. I can't wait to see where else their partnership takes them!!!

Evelyne Redfern, lover of British whodunnit mysteries, gets a wartime job in the Cabinet War Room (CWR) after having worked in an ordnance factory. But she has another assignment as well; she’s to Keep her ears open for anything interesting she hears. What she doesn’t know at the beginning of her job is that someone has been giving critical information to the Nazi’s, and that person/those people need to be identified and stopped. That is the whole premise of the book and it launches us into a madcap race to find out who is giving the Germans this information. Then, just a few days after starting her new job, Jean, an unpleasant and threatening person, is found murdered in the sunlight room by none other than Evelyne. While not well liked, Jean’s death is a shock and so begins a madcap race to find out who is the mole, what information are they giving the Germans, and what is the connection to Jean’s murder? Evelyne teams up with David Poole, who in theory assists the Minister of Information but may be much more, and together they start on a question to solve the mystery. It’s a fun read, with lots of twists and turns, sexist police officers who aren’t half as good at investigating as Evelyne and who dismiss her help, suspects galore (of both genders) a real whodunit, much like the books Evelyne likes to read. An outstanding book for vacation, the beach, an airplane ride, anyplace you can read it in one sitting, because that’s what you are going to want to do!

I love a good mystery and I love anything related to WWII. This book was a mixture of both. I read it in one day as it was hard to put down. I loved the style of writing and it kept me on my toes!

A Traitor in Whitehall, by Julia Kelly is the first in her new series about Evelyn Redfern, amateur sleuth. When Evelyn is tasked with working in the Cabinet War Rooms during WWII, the last thing she expects is to be locked in a room with a dead girl, but that’s exactly what happens! She and Mr. Poole team up, a bit unwillingly, to discover not only the killer, but also a mole in the CWR. This was a great first book and I can’t wait for the next one! Thanks NetGalley.