Foyle’s War meets Dear Mrs Bird in the first captivating installment of F L Everett’s Edie York mysteries: Murder in the Blitz.

Newspaper secretary Edie York has big dreams. She would love nothing more than to be out on the field chasing leads and writing stories that really matter – as opposed to being stuck writing headlines and transcribing Churchill’s speeches. Finally, it looks like Edie will get her chance when gets her first real assignment – which ends with a pistol shot and a dead body! Determined to investigate the sudden death of a Home Guard soldier, Edie is not going to let anyone or anything stand in her way – especially not DCI Louis Brennan who is infuriating, irascible and also very handsome!

Edie’s quest for justice quickly makes her wonder whether she’s bitten off more than she bargained for when it ends up getting her in very close proximity to undercover spies, traitors and jewel thieves. Just what has Edie got herself wrapped up in? Is she ready for what she’s about uncover? With Louis landing a hand, Edie is hot on the trial of a dangerous killer who has no hesitation in killing again and again. But with Edie getting far too close to the truth, will she be the murderer’s next victim? Or will Edie solve this case and at long last get her moment in the sun?

I galloped through this irresistible historical cosy mystery by F L Everett, Murder in the Blitz! Smart, tense and immensely enjoyable, Murder in the Blitz introduces readers to the wonderful Edie York, a heroine they are sure going to want to spend time with as she hopefully embarks on more thrilling adventures.

A terrific mystery full of atmosphere, tension, wit and action, F L Everett’s Murder in the Blitz is an engaging and entertaining cosy mystery I couldn’t get enough of – I cannot wait for the next Edie York crime novel!

I liked this a lot. It is set in Manchester, which I had no idea had its own Blitz in WWII. Edie wants to be a crime reporter, and stumbles across different mysteries that she thinks are all related. I like the way it comes together in the end. I will definitely read the next one in this series.

1940, Edie is keen to rise through the ranks at her newspaper but, even during a war, being a woman holds her up. She is promoted to obituarist but it is the crime reporter role she really wants. Helping out a colleague, she witnesses a death but was it suicide or murder?
Murder in the Blitz is a cosy historical murder mystery set during WW2 in Manchester, UK.
Edie is hideously frustrated and finds her career prospects to be stunted by being a woman.  She is desperate to get be a crime reporter and become a serious journalist. Obituarist doesn't have the same kudos but it is a good opportunity so she readily accepts. A colleague asks her to cover a home guard training session and one of the men is shot. Some believe it was suicide but others think it was murder. Edie tries to investigate while maintaining her compassion and journalistic integrity.
The book is written in the first person from Edie's perspective. There is an almost chatty tone and Edie's voice and viewpoint seems very modern. I really liked her character: she is feisty and wants to make a difference whilst also forging a career for herself in a male dominated profession. The war provides opportunities while also causing restrictions.
Being the first book, the author takes time to introduce us to Edie as well as the historical and geograohical setting. This does slow the pace down a little, especially at the start of the book, but then Edie launches into her investigation and the plot developments speed up.
Murder in the Blitz is an entertaining historical murder mystery with a strong lead female character.

Edie York is a young woman in pursuit of her dream to go from secretary to crime reporter on the Manchester Chronicle. She soon gets her shot (pun intended) when someone is killed in front of her during her very first real assignment.

WWII, murder, spies, Nazis and the blitz in England—everything you need for a great historical cozy mystery. But, while this first book in new mystery series was a hit for me on the historical level, it was something of a miss when it came to being a mystery.

The author definitely knows their stuff regarding WWII. By skillfully weaving instances of rationing, family and friends being called to active duty, air raids, volunteer work, etc., they gave depth to the story, allowing the reader to become deeply immersed in the setting.

Unfortunately, setting isn’t enough. The plot is predictable, and the story often gets bogged down by the first person narrative which lead to long overly expansive passages. Another downside to this was that, outside of Edie, we learn little about the other characters.

There’s some good stuff and some not so good stuff here. If a second book comes out I might give it a try, in hopes of something a bit better.

I love cozy mysteries. I love books set in WWII. I love books with plucky MCs. I'm not surprised I enjoyed Murder in the Blitz. The start was a bit slow but once I found my way I was hooked. Looking forward to reading future books in this series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.

England, December 1940: All Edie York has ever wanted is to be a real reporter, investigating daring hot-off-the-press pieces in her smartest pencil skirt. Instead, she’s stuck answering the telephones on her local newspaper, battling her worn-out typewriter and its missing ‘v’, and coughing through the Chief Editor’s pipe smoke as he dictates the wartime headlines. So when Edie stumbles upon the seemingly accidental death of a Home Guard soldier, she’s determined to investigate fully. Maybe, if she can find out what happened and make a story out of it, she might be given just a few column inches of her own. What Edie doesn’t expect, though, is for her first (self-appointed) assignment to turn her from secretary to sleuth in less time than it takes to type ‘murder’. This is the first in a witty new series that promises to be a long running hit. I really enjoy historical mysteries and this one portrays WWII in a wonderfully realistic way. I love Edie and am excited to see her evolution in subsequent outings.

I thought this was really well written and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future. I think it will find readers at our library, so we will definitely be purchasing for the collection.

I really enjoyed this, and thought the main character was very likeable. The plot was very interesting and intriguing, which made the book really easy and fun to read. There was some twists I did not see coming towards the end, and I'm very excited to read more books in this series or from this author.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC! I am very grateful and happy to explore everything this author will write in the future as well!

I started this series without too many expectations, mostly because I find that it doesn't help the reading experience if I go in with preconceived notions.
I have read a few books set in this time period, some of them mysteries and others not. This one is a good combination of the two, providing an in-depth look at average life during wartime while simultaneously giving a puzzle to focus on at the centre of it all.
Edie wants a bigger role than she currently has in her newspaper. When a spot in the crime section opens up, she is hopeful but soon finds out that she is being relegated to writing obituaries and related local stories. When someone dies during a practice session, she smells something amiss and starts to dig. She continues even when almost every avenue to her is closed. The ultimate culprit becomes obvious to us readers after a point, but Edie does not see things the same way. It is not a bad combination to watch play out.
The romance hinted in the blurb is a lot more understated than the summary would have a reader believe. This is a good thing since the possible relationship still seems far off, and we are entertained with banter in the 'getting to know you' stage.
I will not go into the mystery part because it starts off in one way and ends up taking a lot of detours before reaching a very surprising but believable conclusion.
I picked up the next book immediately after I set this down.
I would recommend it to fans of the historical fiction genre.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Edie and Louis's banter and chemistry had me smiling throughout. The wartime setting added an extra layer of tension to the mystery, and I appreciated the historical details that brought the era to life. Edie's determination to break into journalism was inspiring, and I loved seeing her grow into her own as an investigator. The plot twists kept me guessing, and the pace was well-balanced between action and introspection. After finishing the book, I found myself thinking about the characters and their relationships, and I look forward to reading more about them in the future. If you enjoy historical mysteries with strong female leads and witty dialogue, this one's a must-read!

Cozy murder mystery set in 1940s Edie is a plucky young journalist working for a Manchester newspaper, dreaming of promotion to bigger stories.

This was somewhat grittier than most cozy mysteries and very atmospheric, the horrors of war are never far away.

I really enjoyed this and I look forward to seeing what Edie and her friends get up to in the next book.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book.

EXCERPT: Why was I bothering? It wasn't as if some funeral director was going to tell me who Edward Turnbull's mysterious dead benefactor was. It was a perfectly ordinary, tragic story of fear and sadness - and if he hadn't taken his own life, it was just a horrible accident that nobody would admit to causing.

ABOUT 'A REPORT OF MURDER': Previously titled: Murder in the Blitz.

England, December 1940: All Edie York has ever wanted is to be a real reporter, investigating daring hot-off-the-press pieces in her smartest pencil skirt. Instead, she’s stuck answering the telephones on her local newspaper, battling her worn-out typewriter and its missing ‘v’, and coughing through the Chief Editor’s pipe smoke as he dictates the wartime headlines.

So when Edie stumbles upon the seemingly accidental death of a Home Guard soldier, she’s determined to investigate fully. Maybe, if she can find out what happened and make a story out of it, she might be given just a few column inches of her own. What Edie doesn’t expect, though, is for her first (self-appointed) assignment to turn her from secretary to sleuth in less time than it takes to type ‘murder’.

With the local police, under the utterly irritating (but outrageously handsome) DCI Louis Brennan, stretched to the limit as bombs rain down, Edie alone has the time, and determination, to investigate. Despite Louis’ best efforts to keep her off the scent and her nose out of his police business, Edie discovers something that neither of them can afford to write off. Another body, whose identity will be on every front page in two seconds flat.

Desperate to prevent a further murder, Edie strides out into the blackout to find answers, an exasperated Louis hot on her tail as she plunges headlong into the mystery. Will Edie unveil the murderer and make headline news, her name in print at last – or will she be next…?

MY THOUGHTS: The author has set the scene well. WWII - air raids, volunteer work, the home guard, rationing. The plot, when pared down to basics, is a good one. The problem lies with the characters and the large amount of filler that slows the pace of the book.

Edie rushes around like a bull at a gate not thinking through her actions or the possible consequences. I didn't not like Edie, but at times she set my teeth on edge with her flights of fancy.

I enjoyed the mystery, although I felt that there were enough evident clues for the reader to solve it long before Edie did.

While this was an enjoyable historical mystery, it could have been a lot tighter in the writing. This is a debut novel and I do believe this author shows promise.

⭐⭐⭐.5

#AReportofMurder #NetGalley

THE AUTHOR: I can find no information on this author.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Bookouture via NetGalley for providing a digital ARC of A Report of Murder by F.L. Everett for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

I really enjoyed this mystery even if it was a bit slow to start and a little more complicated than most cozies. The details of life during WWII England were immersive and excellently done.

I loved this murder/mystery s3t during the Bliz. Very interesting and twisty. The old style way of investigating was very interesting. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Princess Fuzzypants here: Orphan Edie wants nothing more than to be a reporter. When she finally gets her chance to escape the secretarial pool, she is given an obituary to write. Little does she realize that it is going to enmesh her in intrigue, espionage and murder. As she goes about the business of interviewing people, they seem to drop like flies. It becomes apparent to Edie, if not to her friendly copper Louis, that the murders are all connected. What she cannot fathom is how. She has some difficulty as well determining the good guys from the bad guys. I had it pegged from the beginning but then maybe it is because I read so many mysteries.

She manages to stumble around, sharing information with all and sundry, until she says the wrong thing to the wrong person and she is about to be come the next victim. The Blitz is going on all around her but she does not do the thing that drives me crazy. There is danger all around but she is aware of her surroundings. And when she realizes that she has trusted the wrong person, she is quite plucky and resourceful. She also happens to be a very good journalist.

It will be interesting to see how she gets on in future books but it is a reasonably good start at four purrs and two paws up.

Thanks to Bookouture & NetGalley for a digital advance reader's copy. All comments and opinions are my own. Formerly titled "Murder in the Blitz" and now called "A Report of Murder."

Another entertaining novel with an endearing character enduring life in World War II England during the Blitz of 1940. Edie York (hey, did you noticed all the “E” words including Edie’s first name)? is an overworked and underpaid secretary at the Manchester Chronicle.

Twenty-four-year-old Edie narrates with a witty and engaging voice. She has wanted to be a crime reporter since she was ten years old and hopes she is getting closer to her dream when she is unexpectedly promoted as the newspaper’s “obituarist.”

With the novel’s references to murder mystery books and authors including Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, and Dashiel Hammett, it’s no surprise that a death soon occurs. Edie believes it’s a murder, not an accident, and is compelled to help solve and write about it for the paper, demonstrating her capabilities as an official crime reporter.

Edie’s group of friends grows, beginning with her best friend and flatmate Annie, to include Detective Inspector Lou Brennan, mortician Arnold Whiting, wealthy art lovers Charles and Lillian Emerson, and a huge dog named Marple. While she investigates the first death, a few more occur which are definitely murders, and possibly all are related. She works on her obituary assignments as well as her crime investigation in between air raids.

In addition to this being an entertaining murder mystery, Edie provides an accurate description of life during wartime: “This new life of air-raid shelters, the endless queuing, the government telling us what we could and couldn’t eat and wear and buy. Nobody I knew really believed that we’d die. It all felt like a ridiculous inconvenience, a silly experiment that had got out of hand. Yet at the same time, I wanted nothing more than for us to win the war and return to normal.” This sentiment reminded me of the similarity to how many of us felt during the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown.

Taking place in December 1940, this delightful debut novel includes red herrings, suspicious characters, and numerous clues amid the gas masks, blackout curtains, and rations. I appreciated the author’s research and was pleased to learn a second book in the series is coming out later this month. Looking forward to reading more about Edie’s exploits in “Murder in a Country Village."

A Home Guard obituary story, a gunshot, and off goes intrepid Edie York to crack her first case and convince her boss at the newspaper that she’s got the right stuff for investigative journalism. Set against the background of 1940 Manchester during WWII, Murder at the Blitz appealed to my new growing interest in historical cozy mysteries.

Murder in the Blitz is a first in series and like many of the same takes a bit to really get rolling with the plot. FL Everett painted a colorful and historically authentic setting against which protagonist, Edie York lives. The cultural situation for women joining the workforce in places that were once only a man’s world like a newspaper office and the home front in time of war like ration cards, bomb shelters, gas masks, and local home guard troops was organic to the story.

Edie’s got spunk and is bored stiff acting as a secretary, transcriber, and dogsbody at the paper. She pushes for a promotion and gets it writing the obituary column, but that is not her end game. She intends to be a flashy war time investigative journalist. So, when a suspicious death happens while she’s on the spot, she naively jumps in and starts tracking clues. How hard can it be? She’s read plenty of murder mysteries.

Oys, this gal was as gullible as it gets and was lucky to survive her first case. The reader is able to see what Edie cannot and it was frustrating and agonizing at first and, well, for a while. But, she does learn even as she irritates the irascible police inspector who finally steps in to help her and the amateur squad she has brought together.

The murder mystery took to nearly the end to really grab me, but it did. Edie annoyed me a lot, but also showed growth and pluckiness that I respected and think I can learn to like her over the long haul. I think its possible Edie was supposed to have a pretty big growth arc as a detective through the series and I’m curious to keep going and see if I’m right. So, I’ll recommend this one to other historical cozy fans with the understanding that the book is a slow starter and the detective is starting without any super sleuth skills just determination.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC
I was intrigued by the description of this book - the Blitz in Manchester, as I love historical mysteries, and I thought it would be interesting to read a 'Blitz' book set outside of London.
Edie is a twenty-something orphan (maybe a future mystery) and aspiring newspaper columnist; she's looking for a way to get a promotion from secretary duties, and is hoping that the fact that the paper's crime correspondent has enlisted will give her a chance.
She does get a new assignment - writing fancy obits, but in the middle of her first interview, she witnesses a suspicious death and everything get more complicated after that.
She's supported by her best friend Annie who's a nurse, Arnold, and Lou who's a somewhat unwilling detective. Life is complicated by a too-good-to-be-true boyfriend and a mysterious work of art.
The action moves along, and although the characters are somewhat stereotypical, the dialogue and descriptions are engaging, and the settings are very realistic.
I think this is a solid beginning to what is touted as a series - I'd love to know what Edie gets up to next. Should appeal to fans of Mrs. Bird, and the Right Sort mysteries.
Quibbles: Edie is REALLY naive for someone who has been on her own her whole life, and I find it hard to believe she'd let herself get talked into the situation at the end of the book. The 'villain' is really obvious and not very original (this is all in the last 5% of the book, up until then, I was all in!).

This is the first book of a series and a quick and easy read for me. The the historical aspect of it. Set in England in 1940 Eddie York dreams becoming an investigative reporter but is stuck behind a desk answering phones at the newspapers office.

So when an opportunity arises she jumps on and start her own investigation. And what is a good investigation without a handsome local policeman? And how will this all play out. I won't tell but I will say it is a great read, enjoyable, entertaining, has the tension and twists you want and although a bit on the slow side it works in this book.

Great writing and great characters this is a great first book in a series that will have you wanting more. Looking forward to reading book two now.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.