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

This is the 2nd entry in the series about Evelyne Redfern, following her time as a typist in the War Rooms. At the opening of the novel, Evelyne is returning to London after her 6 weeks of training to join the SEO and is quickly sent back out to the field to investigate an anonymous report of theft in a top-secret weapons development/manufacturing facility in the countryside of England, Blackthorn Park. Her partner from the previous book, David Poole, is now her field supervisor, but things quickly go awry, and he has to join her in the field to assist with an investigation into the suspicious death of the Chief Engineer, that must be wrapped up before a very important site visit by Winston Churchill.
As with the previous book, Evelyne proves to be resourceful, and clever, and fast on her feet as she looks into the murder of the Chief Engineer. The writing is easy to follow, and I enjoyed Evelyne's continued character development, as well as learning more about David. The book plotting was well done, with the solution wrapping things up neatly, but not too easily surmised by this reader. The ending also leaves potential for a 3rd book in the series, which I will certainly snatch up if it comes to fruition.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the electronic ARC of this novel for review.

I love this series! The murder mystery set within secret facilities during World War 2 gives high-stakes vibes to these books. I loved this mystery and it kept me on my toes the entire time. I also loved Evelyne and David's relationship throughout the book! Now that she is a full investigator, and not forcing David to allow her on the case like last book, it is fun to see them work as equal partners! It is also the slowest of slow burns if you, like me, want them to date. I really enjoyed this book and can't wait for the next book in the series!

Thank you to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Following her success at ferreting out a "Traitor in Whitehall", Evelyne Redfern, now an official intelligence officer, must use all her wits and skills learned during SOE training to expose who killed Sir Nigel Balram and tried to make it appear to be suicide.

Accompanied by the dishy David Poole, Evelyne travels to Sussex to Blackthorn Park, an R&D facility for novel explosives used by covert operatives in the war against Germany. Not only do Evelyne and David have discover Sir Nigel's killer, but also if someone is stealing materials from Blackthorn Park, and if so, why.

Betrayal at Blackthorn Park is the second installment in the Evelyne Redfern mysteries by Julia Kelly. It's a cracking good tale that will keep you guessing as the body count rises and dirty little secrets are exposed. Hits book stores October 1 2024.

Love the second book in this spy/mystery series by Julia Kelly! I love the English countryside setting during WWII and the unique mystery at the center of the story. The main character has developed quite a bit since the first book and the sparks between her and David, her partner, are flying. Can't wait to see where the next mystery leads us. Great book!!

Review: Betrayal at Blackthorn Park by Julia Kelly (book 2 of the series)

Betrayal at Blackthorn Park is an Agatha Christie style historical fiction that will keep you on your toes.

Evelyne Redfern has just finished her training with the SOE and is sent on her first mission. It is supposed to be a straightforward in and out type of mission until she happens upon a murder. Evelyne and her handsome colleague, David Poole, are teamed up yet again to solve the mystery, but it’s not going to be so easy.

I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery. The WWII setting sets the stakes and allowed me to get away into a different era for a while. Kelly also used her short chapters and intrigue to draw me in and keep me reading well past my bedtime.

Thank you to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Much too slow moving…….I found myself reading and then I had to put the book down and do something else……slogging along as it were. The plot took much too long to reach a crescendo. This book was not thrilling, it was not captivating and it was just a very blah murder mystery to me. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for granting me this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own. #BetrayalatBlackthornPark, # StMartin’sPress.

This is the second historical mystery in the series featuring Evelyne and Poole, who work for the SOE in Britain during World War II. Evelyne has finished her spy training and is assigned to work with Poole again solving crimes. I like the fact that the relationship between the two is getting less combative and they are now able to work as a team more easily, although it is annoying that Evelyne must be right all the time. And because she reads mystery novels, she thinks she knows much more than police constables and investigators in how to run a case. The twisty story will keep your attention. I look forward to the next book. And I love the note that Julia Kelly watched Masterpiece Mysteries on Thursday nights too.

This is the second book Julia Kelly’s Paris Orphan historical mystery series that follows Evelyne Redfern, a young woman with a somewhat scandalous past (thanks entirely to her parents’ very public divorce and mother’s sudden death when she was a child) who finds herself called upon to help investigate matters of British national security during WWII. After proving her natural talent for investigation and discretion in book 1, Evie has undergone intensive training and is embarking on her first mission as an agent, with former partner David Poole as her new handler. She’s barely begun what was supposed to be a surveillance operation at a secret R&D facility when she discovers a murder and she and David are once again in the thick of things. Can they discover the murderer before the PM is scheduled to visit?

This was another great addition to what is becoming a new favorite historical mystery series. It was fun to see Evie’s skills develop as the result of her formal training and I was glad that David’s time as the more hands off handler was short. These two are great together and I am hoping we get to see more of their relationship evolve as the series continues. One of the highlights for me were the scenes with Evie’s mysterious aunt—I loved her and hope that we see more of her in the future. It’s also clear that there is more to Evie’s father than meets the eye and I am intrigued. I can’t wait until the next book in this series!

Thanks to Netgalley and Minotaur for the e-ARC; all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this second volume in the series. Evelyne and David, who worked together undercover in the first novel, have both been "promoted" and end up working on a case at a research facility developing and manufacturing weapons for the British troops in 1940. What begins as an assignment to look in to theft at the facility becomes much more of a mystery, with dead bodies. Readers have plenty of possible suspects, but the solution is hidden amongst the red herrings.

I'll follow up on this quick read and am now waiting for the (possible) next volume in the series. I received this volume as an ARC, courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.