Evelyne Redfern is the daughter of a famous philanderer. It’s 1940 and a friend of her dad’s invites her to work in Whitehall in Churchill’s war rooms. It’s a top secret job and the women who work there stay in the complex until their day off, when they can return to their apartments. Shortly after she begins her new job, Evelyne finds a murdered girl and becomes involved in the investigation of the crime. No one knows she has already been secretly commissioned to seek out a traitor among the Whitehall staff, but now there’s also a murderer to solve.

David Poole is in charge of the investigation and finds Evelyne can be useful in ferreting information out of the women she works with. The two combine their efforts to solve the murder while simultaneously looking for a traitor in their midst. The solving of the mysteries is interesting and engaging, as are Poole and Evelyne. Where the book fails to succeed is in the ease of Evelyne’s acceptance as a sleuth, both by the man who recruits her and by Poole. Somehow her reputation as the daughter of a famous man gives her credentials she hasn’t earned. But beyond that, she does a good job of investigating and is useful in this tale of betrayal, murder, secrets, attraction, and spies. Readers will be intrigued by the mystery and piqued by the potential for romance between the two main characters.

The narration is performed by Marisa Calin and her voice adds depth and interest to the book.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for allowing me to read and review A Traitor in Whitehall on NetGalley.

Published: 10/03/23

Narrator: Marisa Calin

Stars: 3

I'm the outlier.

This the segment of historical fiction that I prefer to watch. Over the last few months I have focused my reading to decreasing my NetGalley shelf, It was seeing covers like A Traitor in Whitehall over and over as I scrolled and reading books with these covers that I figured out I don't enjoy the written/audio stories; however, I love how they are shown on Masterpiece Theatre.

If you enjoy this era, this is for you.

Calin was okay.

Just wrapped up this fantastic read set in 1940s England, and let me tell you, it's a gem! The author expertly weaves together elements of mystery, historical intrigue, and a hint of romance that kept me hooked from start to finish.

Evelyne Redfern, also known as "The Parisian Orphan," finds herself thrust into the heart of wartime London while working at a munitions factory. When she catches the eye of Mr. Fletcher, an old friend of her father, her life takes a dramatic turn as she's introduced to the inner workings of Winston Churchill's cabinet war rooms. But things take a dark turn when a colleague is murdered, throwing Evelyne into the role of amateur sleuth.

As she delves deeper into the investigation, she crosses paths with David Poole, a minister's aide with his own agenda. Despite their initial clashes, they reluctantly team up to uncover a mole selling government secrets to Britain's enemies. Evelyne's sharp wit and determination shine as she navigates the dangerous waters of espionage and murder, all while battling her growing attraction to David.

The pacing is spot-on, keeping the suspense building with each turn of the page. The characters are richly drawn, each with their own secrets and motivations that add layers to the story. And the historical backdrop of wartime England adds an extra dimension of authenticity to the narrative.

Overall, I couldn't get enough of this book and eagerly anticipate more installments in the series. It's a must-read for fans of historical fiction and mystery alike!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A Traitor in Whitehall
By: Julia Kelly
Publisher: Macmillan
Pub Date: 10/3/23
Narrated by: Marisa Carlin

Historical fiction is one of the best genres but throw a little detective novel in the mix and you’ve got A Traitor in Whitehall.
It’s 1940… England is at war. London is being bombed by the Germans every night. Evelyne Redfern is renting a room in London with her best friend Mora. When she bumps into one of her fathers friends Mr. Fletcher. He gives her a job. She’s going to be working in Churchill's bunker in the typing pool. He sends her in to make observations and report back but as she settles in one of the other girls is murdered.
David Poole is there trying to find out how top secret information is being spilled to the Germans. Evelyne ends up teaming up with David Po to try to find out how the girl was murdered and who the mole is.
It was absolutely everything I wanted in the perfect mix of genres. I’m hoping that there will be more to come and it becomes a series!!

This book started out as many WWII books do…..a girl joins the war effort. What is different is right as this girl starts her new job, she is locked in a room with a dead woman. Evelyn’s tries to keep calm and also starts investigating the murder, while being in that locked room.

As a reader, we get to spend days going through day to day life with Evelyn, as she helps with the investigation. I did love this!! It was almost like a cozy WWII mystery, with intrigue splashed through the text.

While this isn’t my favorite Julia Kelly book, I would say it is second.

Excellent book and a wonderful audiobook! I really enjoyed listening to the narrator read the book. Marisa had a great storytelling voice with lots of animation and a different voice for each character. I would highly recommend listening to the audiobook!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audiobook in exchange for my honest review!

I loved this Agatha Christie meets cozy meets historical fiction. The fact that this was historical but was a solid mystery had me hooked and I could not stop!

I received an advance audio copy. All thoughts are my own.

3.5 stars. A rather light, cozy mystery set in London's underground war rooms during WWII. The mystery was wrapped up rather quickly but I'm curious to see how the main characters develop over time. I will read the follow-up books as I wasn't crazy about the narrator's breathy voice.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 Stars (rounded up).

Evelyne Redfern, was infamously known as the Parisian Orphan as a child due to her parents messy divorce, her father's philandering and her mother's questionable death. Evelyne is grown up now and has been recruited to work at the Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s cabinet war rooms (CWR). She is working as a typist when a couple days into her new job she finds the body of an unpopular secretary that launches her into a murder investigation. She teams up with the handsome David Poole who is conducting his own investigation about how sensitive information is leaving the CWR and getting into the hands of the German's. They have a list of suspects and must figure out who is behind these crimes before they strike again.

I like WWII novels and I like that this one was set in WWII but was not really about the war, it is a good old fashioned murder mystery (like the ones Evelyne loves). It is a decent mystery and reads like a detective novel with a few plot holes and reality leaps... like she has worked there for four days and all of the suspects want to open up to her about they're shady behavior that some of them were blackmailed for...doubtful. Overall I did like the characters and how Evelyne and David worked together. The side characters are also entertaining. It is a standalone novel but can tell there will be more in the series, and I would be interested in reading those too. I have read a couple of Julia Kelly's other novels and this wont disappoint. I had the audio version read by Marisa Calin who I thought did a great job. She was easy to listen to, engaging and kept a nice pace. I would like to hear more of her works.

loved this WWII historical mystery with a strong female lead.
This novel is the first in the new Parisian Orphan Series.
If you enjoy a good mystery and historical fiction, this is the perfect book because it combines both !
The book takes place in London, England during WWIl and the bombings of London. After working in an ammunitions factory Evelyne Redfern by chance meets a friend of her parents' and gets hired as a secretary in the underground cabinet war room. Not long after she arrives there, she finds one of the other typists murdered.
She loves British Crime fiction and I loved all the mentions of Christie and Sayer's books and loves to imagine herself as an amateur sleuth, and seeing the ineptness of the military police she starts to hunt the killer. But she is also tasked with finding a mole. She meets David Poole, whose goals seem to line up with hers, but can she trust him? How far?
Evelyne does not really trust him, but the two pair up and make an unlikely team. They realize that their goals are more aligned than they previously thought. Will they be able to catch a killer and find the mole before it is too late? Is the killer and the mole the same person, or are these things going on separate from each other?
Are there maybe several moles ?
This book has a smart and strong female lead character who didn't have an easy life but one that allows her to talk to different people and reach them where they are at. I look forward to reading more books in this series - this was a great start!
The audio was perfectly done and narrator Marisa Caitlin and her accent created the perfect atmosphere and whisked me away to the London of a different time.

I have had the pleasure of reading most of Julia Kelly’s books over the past many years. All of her previous books that I had read were historical fiction and stand-alone books. A Traitor in Whitehall (Parisian Orphan #1) was definitely written as a historical fiction detective mystery. It was set during World War II in the war rooms of Winston Churchill. In my opinion, it read more like a cozy mystery. It was definitely a good blend of the two genres. I listened to the audiobook that was well narrated by Marisa Calin. This was the first book in a series that I have had the opportunity to read by Julia Kelly.

Evelyne Redfern was the daughter of Reginold Redfern, a prominent and successful businessman who happened to also be a known adulterer. Her estranged father deceived her mother at their custody battle over her. Evelyne was sent to an all girls boarding school. When Evelyne returned to London she discovered that her mother had died and her father had vanished from her life. In all ways, Evelyne was an orphan. She did not want to be associated with her unscrupulous father so she hid her real last name and took an inconspicuous position at a munitions factory. The work was mundane but Evelyne felt that she could hide her real identity in this setting. After all, she was helping the war effort and that was her main intention. She shared a flat with a good friend and continued to enjoy her favorite pastime of reading detective mystery books.

One evening on her way home she met up with an old acquaintance of her now estranged father. She recalled that his name was Mr. Fletcher. To Evelyne’s surprise, Mr. Fletcher proposed that Evelyne be given the opportunity to work as a typist in the war rooms of Winston Churchill. Evelyne was excited about this turn of events. The munitions factory served its purpose but working in the same building as Winston Churchill was so much better and exciting. Mr. Fletcher also asked Evelyne to be extra vigilant and observant of anything that might appear suspicious or questionable as she worked in the typist pool.

Shortly after starting her new job as a typist, Evelyne discovered the dead body of one of her coworkers. For a few tense moments, Evelyne found herself locked in the same room with the dead body. Someone had intentionally locked her in the room, but who and why?

Evelyne somehow managed to get herself assigned to assist in the murder investigation. After all, it was she that found the body. She ended up assisting someone from the Ministry of the Interior. All those years reading Murder Mystery books was about to pay off. The man from the Ministry of the Interior soon realized that Evelyne was very perceptive and had good instincts. He began to trust her and her abilities to help solve this murder.

There were many suspects and twists and turns throughout this investigation. I adored Evelyne as the female protagonist in this book. She was insightful, intelligent, systematic, thoughtful and caring. The Traitor in Whitehall by Julia Kelly was suspenseful and engaging. The ending was not at all what I had guessed but it was believable and satisfying. Julia Kelly proved once again what a masterful storyteller she is. A Traitor in Whitehall (Parisian Orphan, #1) was a gripping murder mystery that read somewhat like a cozy mystery. I am looking forward to reading the next book in this series now. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen to the audiobook of A Traitor in Whitehall (Parisian Orphan, #1) by Julia Kelly through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for the early release copy of A Traitor in Whitehall by Julia Kelly.
This is a fast paced and exiting read with several different intertwining plots and twists. The book kept my attention and I listened in one day. The reader did a great job and I enjoyed the performance of the book.
I look forward to exploring other books by this author. It kept me guessing and I loved it!

Moving back in time, I also listened to the WWII mystery A Traitor in Whitehall, ably read by Marisa Calin (who has a smooth, calming voice and the ability to change accents as needed). If you know me, you know I love WWII mysteries that take place in England and involve women working under cover!

During the war, everyone wants to do their part, and Evelyne Redfern is no different than anyone else. So when she's given the opportunity to work for the war effort as a typist, she jumps at the opportunity. What she doesn't anticipate is being pulled into a world of intrigue and espionage at the same time!

No sooner does she start her new job than one of her new colleagues is murdered, and Evelyne is determined to get to the bottom of things before anyone else gets hurt.

I loved Evelyne's intelligence, keen observation skills, and persistence and found this to be a riveting WWII read. The story is perfectly situated to be the start of a series, and I'm hoping it leads to more stories with Evelyne and her partner, David. They were wonderful together!

Thank you to Julia Kelly, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

Were you a young reader who cut your teeth on Nancy Drew or Agatha Christie mystery novels? If so, did you secretly dream of being a sleuth and solving mysteries of your own? If you're nodding your head, then you'll identify with Evelyn Redfern. When she's not doing her bit for the war by working in a munitions factory, she prefers to have her nose in a mystery novel. After she's asked to work as a typist in Churchill's cabinet war rooms, she has the perfect opportunity to put all those bookish sleuthing skills to use when one of her fellow typists is murdered. She teams up with David Poole, an aide to the minister, whom she spars with about the investigation and his affinity for American mystery novelists.

The murder case was complex enough to keep me guessing, but easy to follow. There's just the right amount of chemistry and respect between Evelyne and David to build a great partnership, and considering this is the first book in a new series, I'm excited to see what intrigue their next case will bring.

This “cozy mystery “was “fine.” it was a nice diversion while I was riding the train, and I may even pick up the next in the series when it is released. The main characters are likable enough, while the secondary ones all blend together, sometimes causing me a bit of confusion as I tried to remember who was who - they’re not at all fleshed out, so tend to be a bit interchangeable. There is not a lot of emphasis put on the setting, which I missed because this was marked as a historical fiction, but that wasn’t my biggest problem with the story. What I really didn’t like the fact that everything happened too easily, too, coincidentally, too, obviously, too… too. Evelyne Redfern reads British mystery novels, and apparently that makes her an expert in the field of private detection and espionage, and she is quickly pulled into the inner circles of Winston Churchill’s cabinet. Really?? The little bits of romance are sweet, and it will be interesting to see if they develop into anything in future novels. There wasn’t a lot of drama or conflict happening here, which made it a little slow at times, but the story is short enough that I was able to finish.
The book is fine. But, that’s not really a compliment, is it?
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC in exchange for my honest opinions.

This first installment in a new historical fiction series finds Evelyne Redfern suddently thrown into a mystery in her new role in the cabinet war rooms. As a mystery novel fan, she quickly puts her amateur slueth skills to work. Along the way she teams up with David Poole, a minister's aide with his own agenda, to solve the mystery.

Though I'm not a big fan of historical fiction in general, I do enjoy a historical mystery, especially one with a female protagonist. This one hit all the right notes, and I would read further into the series.

The narration was good as well.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #MacmillanAudio for a free copy of #ATraitorinWhitehall by Julie Kelly. All opinions are my own.

This was a fun historical suspense/mystery. I enjoyed the main character and her search for the killer as well as the fast pace and interesting characters she meets along the way. A very satisfying quick historical fiction mystery read.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the arc copy. Opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley, Julia Kelly & Macmillan Audio for the opportunity for this audio arc in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this cozy WW2 mystery! Julia Kelly did a great job making me feel like I was right along side Evelyne as she was solving the murder of a fellow typist in Winston Churchill's underground war room. I loved Evelyne's character and the banter between herself and David Poole as they work on their investigation. This book appears to be the first in a series and I can't wait to see what mystery Evelyne solves next!

I also loved the narrator Marisa Calin and think she did a fabulous job!

This book was so delightful! Being immersed in the proper British customs and speech with the background of World War II was almost like being there myself. I thoroughly enjoyed watching as Evelyn’s skill at finding the truth saved the day. She partnered with Mr Poole and showed us how they dealt with a murderer and treason. I hope we get to see more of Evelyn and Mr Poole because it was truly an adventure I couldn’t put down. Highly recommended!