This is the second book of a series – a historical murder mystery that takes place during WWII.

Evelyne Redfern has returned this time with a special investigation where weapons are tested. There is a concern that some of the supplies may be missing and it’s her job to find the leaks or moles. It seems rather simple to her at the quiet Blackthorn Park in Sussex. As an agent, she has been trained in surveillance, with weapon, hand-to-hand combat and parachute training. Yet, she needs to take this assignment seriously as it could lead to more complex jobs. She is under a time constraint as Churchill is scheduled to visit in a few days.

All of Julia Kelly’s books have a well-thought-out plot with the right amount of characters. Evelyne is working on her assignment with her handler, David Poole, who insisted on being by her side. It feels like in future books, there might be more of a romantic connection between the two. She lives in a boarding house with her best friend, Moira, in London. David told her that it’s lonely working with the Special Investigation Unit as you can’t say a word about what you’re doing or where you are…ever. Of course, her friend wants to know everything especially about the handsome man, David. How can she keep this quiet?

Churchill depends on good weapons and that’s what this research facility and manufacturing plant is all about: the creation of urgent warfare. It’s history, it’s suspense and there’s a murder. At times it feels frustrating as it can be slow trying to piece together all of the clues. While there were hints along the way, I didn’t discover the murderer until the end. Was it believable? Absolutely.

My thanks to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of October 1, 2024.

Evelyne Redfern returns in the second installment of The Parisian Orphan series. Fresh out of Spy school, former typist and detective book aficionado is ready to do her part to help Churchill win the war.

Evelyne and her new handler David are sent to a weapon making estate to investigate some missing inventory when it turns deadly.

Mystery, intrigue and a blush of romance are hallmarks of Julia Kelly’s writing and she does an exceptional job here. The small details she incorporates into the story plop the reader into wartime England and make for a very fun read.
Maggie Hope fans will feel right at home here.

“Betrayal at Blackthorn Park” is the second book in the “Parisian Orphan” series by Julia Kelly. In this book, once again we follow Evelyne Redfern, now just returned from an espionage training program, sent on an easy assignment - testing security at an estate. Her handler, also from the first book, is David Poole. While the assignment may have been planned as being an easy one, it’s not. Once again, the two main characters try to figure out what is going on (and by whom). Ms. Kelly, once again, has done her research into England during WWII.

Thank you to @netgalley and @MinotaurBooks for this ARC. Julia Kelly's second book in the Evelyne RedFern series though can be read as a stand alone. Evelyne was promoted to a secret agent during the war by Churchill. After a successful first mission, she is sent to Blackthorn Park to investigate the theft of items related to the building of small bombs. Her first night undercover, the scientist in charge of the project is found shot. Let the investigation begin. I love this character and her partner David. Cute series! #BetrayalatBlackthornPark #JuliaKelly #MinotaurBooks #Oct2024

Julia Kelly is one of my favorite authors. She did not disappoint with this book. Loved, loved, loved it. Can't wait for the next book in this series.

Julia Kelly is a historical fiction author that you can depend on to deliver a well written and well researched story. This is not the first book in the series and although I did not read the first book you can easily pick up with the characters and get right into the story. Looking forward to more! Highly recommended!

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of this novel.

This is the second volume in Julia Kelly’s Evelyne Redfern series. The first introduced the ´Parisian Orphan,’ so dubbed in childhood by the scandal sheets of the day after her French mother’s death. Returned to England, birthplace of her just as notorious father, the enterprising Evelyne grows up to join Winston Churchill’s typing pool as the Second World War begins. She soon crosses swords with David Poole, assigned to solve a mystery that only ends with Evelyne’s astute assistance. That novel closes with their official pairing in the Special Investigations Unit.

This one opens just as Evelyne has completed her six weeks of top-secret SIU training. Almost as soon as she has resettled in Mrs Jenkins’ London boardinghouse and reunited with her best friend Moira, she is called to her first assignment. She and David, now her ‘handler,’ are given what seems a relatively un-thrilling task: to assess the security of Blackthorn Park, a former country estate turned into a weapons testing headquarters for the duration. Naturally this proves a much more complicated job from the start. No sooner has Evelyne set foot in the place than a shot is fired and the head engineer is found dead. She and David, united by their fearless loyalty to Churchill and the war effort, banter and squabble their way through every twist and turn of an enthralling plot. Moreover, they have to get to the bottom of it and restore security before Churchill arrives—in three days.

Kelly, as a veteran historical fiction writer, is adept in making those plot developments both unpredictable and logical. I was never lost in detail nor too aware of what was coming. Both of the main characters are admirable in their own strengths, and their evident attraction spices up their work partnership. The writing, as always, is excellent and there is enough ‘background’ in this book to make it work as a stand-alone.

2nd in the series, it's a quick and convincing immersion in Evelyne’s world of SOE, Britain's WW2 Special Operations Executive. This time Evelyne's been through the special agent training program to learn to pick locks, infiltrate suspicious locations, and survive in enemy territory.

Dashing David Poole from their first, almost accidental op is back, newly promoted to be her handler for her first post-training assignment. It’s supposed to be a simple test of security at one of the many rural estates turned over to various aspects of war work. In and out with no-one the wiser. But best laid plans rarely survive contact with the enemy, in this case a sneaky thief who is making off with essential supplies (and possibly plans) for the building of small bombs and other weapons essential to the work of SOE saboteurs in France. Soon Evelyne's facing a corpse and David's dashing to her rescue... even though he's not really needed. Evelyne draws on her previous experience and training to instruct the constable who must secure the scene while waiting for more experienced officers to arrive.

The writing is crisp and clear, the settings economical and easily visualized. The plot moves along at a good clip without sacrificing the credibility of relationships between not only Evelyne and David but with other characters as well. Indeed, one of this book's great strengths is how well it portrays the world of wartime Britain, where any cottage in any village might be housing staff for some secret research facility nearby and nobody can tell even their best friend what their war work really consists of. Britain may never be tested like that again, and that's a good thing, because the green and pleasant land that banded together with enduring fortitude and wry humour to withstand the onslaught of one of the largest armies Europe has ever seen is barely imaginable today.

Any fan of Golden Age mysteries will thoroughly enjoy the contemporaneous crime novels that Evelyne reads on train trips and in other idle moments..

If you've chosen the audiobook, you too may find the narration very uneven. The first phrase of a sentence flies out with tween-girl speed and inflection, while the rest is slow and portentious as a wartime speech by Winston Churchill: stirring to hear for 15 minutes in an emergency but wearing on the ear, and the patience when it goes on for hour.s, regardless of which character is speaking and whether their content is deep and serious or debating a new haircut.

This is the second book in a series in which two highly trained agents embark on a mission to investigate a theft at Blackthorn Park. During the investigation, one of the employees is murdered. This complicates the investigation and takes it in a different direction, towards the barnacle bombs. Evie and David work hard to complete the investigation before Churchill visits the facility.

The investigation is a slower process in which we learn about a secret government research facility used for the development of weapons during the war.

Evie and David have created a spectacular team in which they complement each other. It was a mystery where you don’t know who to trust and who to believe, and in the end the suspect turns to be someone you least expected. The investigation was a bit too slow for my taste, but the mystery behind the story held my attention.

This book will appeal to readers who like mysteries and crimes.

Betrayal at Blackthorn Park is the second book in Julia Kelly's Parisian Orphan series. I actually enjoyed this novel slightly better than the first novel in this series. I think that is because a first book in a series has a lot of details to unpack to introduce characters and the setting. Now that readers have moved to the second novel in this series, Betrayal at Blackthorn Park, it is easier to just enjoy the mystery. This novel is historical fiction, and as such has more complexity for the writer to develop the story. The setting is a small country village, but the time is during World War II, which means Kelly needed to create a crime, a criminal(s), and a solution that would be worthy of this setting.

Evelyne Redfern and her agent partner, David Poole, are the good guys, but perhaps everyone else might be a villain. Evelyne and David arrive at Blackthorn Park to investigate a supposed theft of goods used to make weapons. Soon the theft becomes a murder. The story is fictional, but the setting is based on The Firs, a requisitioned manor house in Buckinghamshire, and yes, I always read the author's notes. I did enjoy this mystery. The solving of the crime took solid work. Although Betrayal at Blackthorn Park can be read as a stand alone novel, I think readers will enjoy it more if having first read book 1.

Thanks you to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC. I do recommend this novel.

I love this series! This is Book #3 in the Parisian Orphan series and while this book can be read as a standalone, the first book is fantastic and I recommend starting with that one. In this book, Evelyne is sent on her first official mission. She is disappointed at the simplicity of it, but things changes as soon as she gets to Blackthorn Park and there is a murder!
I love a strong female character and Evelyne is just perfect! I hope that there will be a 3rd book in the series since I love it! Thank you Netgalley and Minotaur books for the early copy!! Look for this book Oct 1st 2024

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for an early copy of Betrayal at Blackthorn Park by Julia Kelly

Evelyne Redfern and David Poole return as they begin the roles of handler and agent and head to a secret facility which is testing weapons to be used in the fight against the Nazis. It will not take long for Poole to realize he is better suited as an investigator and teams with Redfern to gather intelligence on why weapons tested at Blackthorn Park are not performing and have actually caused death to British soldiers.

When the body of one of the managers at Blackthorn Park is found dead, apparently by suicide, Redfern and Poole are authorized to investigate and, with many potential suspects on the premises, they must work meticulously to prove their case for homicide rather than suicide.

With a visit from Prime Minister Winston Churchill to Blackthorn Park imminent, Redfern and Poole delve even deeper when a second body turns up dead. In going through employee files, Evelyne Refern uncovers family information that will lead to the traitorous perpetrator.

Betrayal a Blackthorn Park draws its plot from a real-life British facility and readers come away from the novel knowing more about the dangerous work of weapons construction and testing.

Author Julia Kelly also leaves readers with the clear possibility of another Redfern/Poole mystery to solve.

Book two in a new historical fiction mystery series with a strong female lead ahead of her time? Add a male character who accepts and even encourages her as an equal? Count me in. As with all series, I always hope to see the main characters grow and develop. That happens for Evelyn and David. However, I would like more from Evelyn’s best friend - perhaps in book three. The plot has plenty of tension and intrigue to keep the book well paced. This is a solid locked room mystery.

As a big fan of Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs series and Susan Elia MacNeal’s Maggie Hope series, both of which have ended, I am desperate for a new series to feed my obsession. Four stars for this enjoyable series. Fingers crossed for book three.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Betrayal at Blackthorn Park is the second book in the Evelyne Redfern Mystery series. Evelyne, just returned to London from a top-secret espionage training program, is sent on an ‘easy’ first assignment. Thefts have been reported at a classified weapons think tank in Sussex and Evelyne just needs to perform a simple, covert inspection for any security weaknesses at the manor house the facility is located in. But there’s a war on and nothing is ever as simple as it seems.

This is another solid entry in the series from Julia Kelly. In fact, I thought it was a big improvement over the first one, which had the author’s usual strong writing and attention to character development, but suffered from a messy, overly complicated plot. In Betrayal at Blackthorn Park, the author still brought her historical fiction experience, but this time focused more on developing her mystery writing skills, which showed a lot of growth.

Something else I noticed is that, while there is an obvious attraction between Evelyne and David, the author seems to be wisely keeping that on the backburner for now. Romance has its place, but this mystery series is shaping up to be enjoyable on its own merits. I came for the mysteries and I appreciate that the author didn't do a genre bait-and-switch, like some other similar series I’ve tried.

I rate Betrayal at Blackthorn Park 4 ¼ stars and highly recommend it to anyone looking for historical mysteries or stories with strong, smart female protagonists. I’d like to note that I know a lot of people are burned out on WWII fiction, but this series gives a different perspective because of the nature of Evelyne and David’s job. It's worth giving it a try.

After the first book in this series hit my top ten favorite reads last year, Betrayal at Blackthorn Park quickly became one of my most-anticipated reads of 2024, and I was over the moon to get my hands on this one in advance. And let me tell you -- it absolutely lived up to expectations!

In this sequel, we find Evelyne Redfern and David Poole teamed up in the roles of handler and agent. Their first assignment? A simple security check at a secret weapons research and development facility. But when Evelyne discovers the chief engineer dead in his office, their simple assignment gets a little more complicated. And once again, Evelyne (and David) find themselves on the hunt for a murderer.

Historical mysteries are a favorite of mine, and Julia Kelly does a fantastic job transporting readers to 1940s, England. The writing is lovely, giving us settings that feel historically authentic and characters that you can't help but fall for. And despite the gravity of their wartime work (and the murdered man in the office) the story maintains a light and charming feel overall.

Evelyne is clever and, at times, impulsive, but with a strong knack for investigating -- and as a protagonist, she's a lot of fun to follow along with. Her relationship with David is equally enjoyable as we get all the tension and banter between two individuals trying to deny their affection for each other. Seeing Evelyne's skills evolve. as well as some new clues and details as to her backstory and life before, makes me all the more intrigued to see where this series goes in the future!

This series will certainly be a go-to favorite of mine and I look forward to however many more historical mysteries Julia Kelly has up her sleeve for these characters! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my gifted advance read!

Evelyne Redfern and David Poole both secert agents during WW2 are teamed up again to solve the murder at Blackthorne Park. Blackthorn Park chief engineer is found dead of an apparent suicide. Once David and Evelyne starts on the case they will follow all the clues to solve the murder. Blackthorn Park is also facing a visit by Winston Churchill and they must have make sure that case is solved soon. With Evelyne's love of murder mysteries books Evelyne and David are the prime investigators. When another body is found at Blackthorne Park. Evelyne and David are under pressure from both headquarters and Winston Churchill vist to find the killer before the next person turns up dead. This was a great follow up to Julia Kelly's first book in the series A Traitor in Whitehall.

It's November, 1940. Evelyne Redfern has just returned to London following her rigorous training within Britain's Special Investigations Unit where she awaits orders for her first mission - a perceived "soft" one to prove of what she is made. She is again paired with David Poole, her newly trained handler. Evelyne is tasked with investigating a report of theft at the covert facility for the development and manufacture of "Ungentlemanly Warfare" munitions - incendiaries for spooks. While stealthily investigating, shots are heard, and Evelyne is the first person on scene of what appears to be a suicide. She takes command of the situation and is soon, along with David, part of the investigation team into this sudden death while still parsing out the anonymous report of theft. The fate of Britain hangs in the balance.

Ms. Kelly has delivered yet another spectacular installment in the Evelyne Redfern mystery series. Her prose is elegant and at times, quite humorous. Her world building based on an historically significant edifice is grand. The story's tension builds gradually holding the reader in thrall until the story resolves itself into a most satisfying conclusion. If 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 1, 2024
Number of Pages:‎ 320
ISBN:‎ 978-1250865519

Betrayal at Blackthorn Park is Julia Kelly's second story in her Parisian Orphan series, a pivot for her to cozy-ish historical mysteries from her previous works of historical fiction. The series centers around Evelyne Redfern and her partner David Poole, a less reluctant one than in the first book in the series. The reader doesn't need to have read the previous book, although it does provide some additional context. Kelly also creatively and helpfully incorporates a brief summary for readers than have not read the previous book. Betrayal at Blackthorn Park has many of the same elements as her previous entry in the series, centered around Evelyn's recruitment to a secretive agency during World War II where in the midst of her job of information gathering she ends up being party to a murder. Unlike the possibly, somewhat claustrophobic setting of the last book, this story takes place mainly at Blackthorn Park, where Evelyne is sent to investigate reports of war supply thefts. Instead she ends up with a murder investigation on her hands and an uninclined to be a handler David at her side. Not surprisingly, they find the victim to be brilliant but disagreeable, and many possible suspects with different motives. The motivation behind the murder is revealed in the sweetest way possible, and one quite possibly, entirely unexpected. Kelly continues the will they or won't they relationship of Evelyne and David, which adds an additional enjoyable element to the story. A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

It’s November 1940, and Evelyne Redfurn has returned to her London boarding house after six secretive, grueling weeks of training to be a Special Investigations Unit (SIU) agent for the British government’s Special Operations Executive (SOE). But before she can relax with her roommate and best friend, Moira, she’s called up for her first assignment. Hoping to be parachuted into occupied France (her mother was French), Evelyne is disappointed when she is sent instead to investigate the possibility of theft at a weapons research and development facility in rural Sussex. Worse, her handler is her old sparring partner, David Poole. On Evelyne’s first night, however, a routine probe becomes a murder case after she stumbles upon the body of Sir Nigel Balram, the leader of the engineering team at Blackthorn Park. His death appears to be an act of suicide, but drawing on the sleuthing skills she honed in A Traitor in Whitehall, Evelyne and David race to identify a killer before Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s impending visit. The clever and resourceful Evelyne is an appealing protagonist, who struggles to maintain her close friendships without revealing her double life as a spy. Her budding chemistry with David is obvious but doesn’t distract from the main plotline. Fans of Susan Elia MacNeal’s Maggie Hope series will delight in following the adventures of a promising new World War II spymaster.

Betrayal at Blackthorn Park (Parisian Orphan #2)
By Julia Kelly, Narrated by Marisa Calin

This is the second book in the Parisian Orphan series and I can tell we have a lot to come after this one. In the first book Evelyne Redfern caught the eye of none other than Winston Churchill as she did work for his war cabinet. Through her work she met agent David Poole and he too was so impressed with Evelyne's work that she is sent to training as a spy for Britain. Now, much to David's displeasure, he's been taken from the field work he so enjoys and put behind a desk to work as a handler for Evelyne in the field. The job is at Blackthorn Park where Evelyne is supposed to just gather information to relay back to the home office. Almost immediately Evelyne doesn't follow orders because, of course she doesn't, things go wobbly at Blackthorn Park, and David ditches his handler job to join Evelyne at Blackthorn Park.

It's very obvious that David never had a chance at "handling" Evelyne, she's going to do whatever she wants to do and no one is going to stop her. David seems very good at following her lead though and even though the story doesn't push a romance (yet), in my eyes it certainly plays as if David is almost too smitten with Evelyne to do his handling job properly. Or maybe he knows when he's beaten and isn't going to waste time fighting a losing battle.

Even though this is a story of spies and I suspect Evelyne will eventually be working with the French resistance, so far the story feels more like old timey black and while movies with the male and female couple squabbling couples who really like each other a lot. Evelyne and David are both very smart, they have to be to do their jobs, and they are both big fans of crime novels. That's what this story is, a crime novel more than a spy story this time. This story can be read/heard as a standalone because you get enough what you need to understand what has gone on in the past. With the friendly joking and competition between David and Evelyne, it's hard to worry about the two of them too much since, despite at least one body, things have a lighthearted feel.

Can they get this job done before Winston Churchill arrives at Blackthorn Park? The danger must be found and eliminated before his arrival in just three days and it seems that there are so many people telling whoopers every step of the way. I was fortunate enough to be able to listen to the audiobook of this story while also having the ebook edition in front of me. Marisa Calin narrates this book as she did for book one and it was nice to be able to go back and forth between the audiobook and ebook, when my weary eyes needed a rest.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books, Minotaur Influencer Program, and NetGalley for these ARCs