Julia Kelly places Evelyne Redfern in harm's way as a government agent looking into missing items at a facility manufacturing weapons for World War II in Betrayal at Blackthorn Park. Two murders staged as suicides affected men in charge of production of bombs, etc. Evelyne and her partner need to find out who is responsible before Churchill visits the facility. Excellent wartime mystery.

After working with David in the last book Evelyne goes off to train for a secret service. Her first assignment is to go to Blackthorn Park and investigate thefts that have been reported. On her first reconnaissance she hears a gunshot and finds a body. At this point David steps back in and they investigate the death.

I am really enjoying the growing relationship between David and Evelyne. This one is not exactly a cozy mystery. I didn't find any of the many characters particularly quirky and I wish I had kept better track of all the names. This didn't grab me right from the get like book #1 but it pulled me in quick enough.

I would like to thank Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a digital copy.

I've been reading Julia Kelly's books for a few years and love her historical fiction stories. Last year she branched out with a mystery series. I wasn't sure if I would be as happy with it as I am with her stand-alone novels. I completely enjoyed A Traitor in Whitehall and was excited to read the next book in the series, Betrayal at Blackthorn. It did not disappoint.

I really like the main characters Evelyne Redfern and David Poole. They work well together and while the series is named for Evelyne and she takes the lead on the investigations, I feel like they are very much a partnership. And they have real chemistry.

Of course, I like the time period as WWII is my favorite time period to read about. I guess Evelyne and David could be sent into Europe, they are currently investigating on home front and it gives the reader insight into the war efforts in England.

This book is set at an engineering lab. I find it funny that the lab was set up in a country manor. Are there no labs at Oxford or Cambridge? Since Kelly's literary roots are in historical fiction, I'm sure it is historically accurate.

I do like how she weaves history and mystery together.

Speaking of the mystery - it is well done. It is intricate enough to keep your attention but not so convoluted that you can't figure it out. I figured out who did it before it was revealed but not the motive.

If you are looking for a fun book with great characters, then make sure you put this book on your list. (You don't have to read the first book but they are both such great reads, I don't know why you wouldn't read them both!)

My review will be published at Girl Who Reads on Monday - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2024/11/betrayal-at-blackthorn-park-by-julia.html

In November of 1940, Blackthorn Park is anticipating a visit from Prime Minister Winston Churchill, which means everything must be ship-shape. But the Special Operations Executive (SOE) has been notified of possible theft at this clandestine weapons research, development and manufacturing facility, and the head of operations sends in Evelyne Redfern, just returned from a rigorous training session. It is her first mission as a fully-fledged agent; a one-night reconnaissance mission, in which she is tasked to look around but not do any formal interviewing and report back the following evening. Her partner, David Poole, has been reassigned as her handler, a stinging rebuke after their last foray together, but instead of everything being as it should be at Blackthorn, Evelyne walks straight in on the suspicious death of the chief engineer, Sir Nigel Balram. Poole immediately resigns as her handler—the work does not suit him—and together they uncover strange goings-on at the base, including newly developed barnacle bombs with faulty timers.

Kelly has created an ambience true to the times with two protagonists who work side-by-side without interference from personal feelings. The attraction is there but hums along quietly in the background. The interwoven previous history is so subtle as to barely be noticeable, but we learn more about Evelyne, her emotional struggle with necessary dishonesty to her best friend Moira, and her eagerness to prove herself in her new career. Written in a crisp straightforward manner which perfectly suits the procedural way in which Evelyne and David conduct their investigation, this is the second standalone novel in an excellent series. It ticks all the right boxes for a WWII SOE murder mystery.

Another win from Julia Kelly in my books.

Continuing where the previous story left off, Evelyn is now a trained field agent helping Britain in the war. Her new handler is to be David Poole, the agent who she partnered with in the first instalment of the series. Their partnership is full of tension, banter and creative genius.

Sent to Blackthorne Park on her first seemingly simple assignment, Evelyn can't help but be annoyed at how innocuous her assignment seems to be. Upon her arrival, she realizes, however, this assignment isn't as simple as it first seemed - the dead body she found was her first clue - and David jumps back in the field to join her.

If you like cozy historical mystery that has that pays homage to the works of Agatha Christie that our MC adores, full of intrigue and romantic tension, a touch of feminism and whit, I think you'll like this one a lot.

While it could potentially work as a stand alone, the reader would benefit from having first read the previous book in the series.

Rating: 4/5
I received an eARC & audio for my honest opinion.

This is book two of the Evelyne Redfern series, I did not read the first book, and I have no issues with understanding what was going on, or the characters. In this book you will meet Evelyne Redfern who has a new assignment, she is to go to Blackstone Park and evaluate their security. See Blackston Park is a place where explosive devices are designed and built for the British forces during the war, but when Evelyne gets there, she discovers a dead body. It appears that the man has killed himself, but something doesn’t seem right, could it have been murder? With the help of David Poole, her handler, can they find out the truth behind this murder and before others might die.

I really enjoyed this cozy historical mystery; it had a little bit of romance in it, mystery, suspense and just an overall fun and easy read. I found the plot to be well developed and the pace to be perfect to getting to know the characters and still see the plot is moving forward. I liked that the author did add in a few twists and turns in the plot, it kept you on your toes, but what I loved the most was that Evelyne was the main character in this book. You will see a strong, determined female character. I liked that you could see the characters developing throughout the book.

I found the characters to be likable and easy to connect with. For me it was really about Evelyne's character, but I loved the banter between David and her. I enjoyed getting to know these characters and seeing what was important to them and why it was. I loved seeing a strong female character from WW2 doing some spying and being a baddie at it, she believed herself and her abilities that she learned. I found hers and Davids’s chemistry between these characters to be chef's kiss, can I hope that the author will develop more between these characters in later books.

I did receive the audio as well and I thought Marisa Calin did a great job narrating this book. I would recommend the audio or the book to anyone. For this being my first historical fiction mystery book, I really enjoyed it.

I want to thank NetGalley & St. Martins/Macmillan for the opportunity to review this book.

Great story of WWII spying and espionage as our favorite girl, Evelyn’s , returns and is quickly involved in a murder! Newly trained as an agent she’s sent for routine security check at Blackthorne Hall, where scientists are developing war weapons. She disappointed that it’s not more of an assignment but then… murder!
Julia takes us on a great tale of mystery, intrigue and underhandedness. Throwing in a little budding romance is the icing on the cake!

Evelyn Redfern is back with another mystery. This time she partners with David to solve a murder that happened in the secret Blackhorn Park. We get more into Evelyn’s backstory this time too and the book ends, just as the first did, with a cliff hanger.

All in all, this is a mystery set during 1940, before the USA got involved and the world was just starting to discover what Germany was trying to accomplish.

Superbly done.

A story full of intrigue, mystery and romance.
I enjoyed reading this historical mystery.
I do have to say, it was a bit slow at times.
If you are a fan of spies and witty banter along with a dose of romance, this is a book you should read.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

An interesting read but rather plodding. Not much in the way of history with this on, some interesting science, but nothing that really reached out and grabbed me. Had to keep going back to it to finish it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 stars

[ thank you @minotaur_books for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own! ]

PUB DATE: October 1st, 2024 (out now!)

THOUGHTS:

I was so excited to continue with book two in this series! It can easily be read as a standalone if you haven’t read book one yet!

This historical mystery was entertaining and I loved being back with Evelyne & David. There’s just something about their adventures that I’ve grown to love and that potential chemistry happening?! I’m here for it! 👏🏼

There were many suspects and twists that constantly had me trying to figure out who did it. I was definitely stumped. And how the book ended? I’m really curious of what’s going to happen in book three now!!

This is a great second book in the series, and David and Evelyne are really intriguing main characters. This murder mystery/thriller will keep the reader on the edge of their seat. I can't wait for the next one.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

Set during WWII, This story sees Evelyne Redfern paired again with David Poole. This time, she is a newly minted spy off on her first assignment and David is to be a first time "handler." The assignment is a simple one, to explore some thefts at a secret munitions factory. Shortly after arriving at Blackthorn Park, Evelyne stumbles upon the director's dead body. staged to look like a suicide, she soons finds that Sir Nigel was murdered. She and David investigate the murder...and a second one. The investigation is slow and methodical and the book rolls out that way too. It is a good story, well-written, with likable characters. The climax is well-written and provides a bit of excitement, but it came so late in the book that I almost didn't get that far.

I thoroughly enjoyed this historical mystery. I loved following the clues with Evelyn and David. The mystery and suspense kept me on the edge of my seat. I had to know whodunnit. I liked learning more about the behind the scenes of world war 2 and how they utilized the estates for making military advancements. I can't wait for the next one in the series.

In the latest Evelyn Redfern mystery, Evelyn once again teams up with fellow spy David Poole. This time, he is to act as her handler, as she is sent to Blackthorn Park to investigate what appears to be shortage of supplies in the making of munitions, as the director of the grand house turned munitions factory has suspicions some may are being sold to the black market and endangering their efforts in winning the war. But on her first night there, as she sneaks in the house to begin her investigations, Evelyn stumbles across a murder.. With Churchill's visit a few days away, she and David team up to solve what is really going on at the facility, and if the remaining workers there are in danger. I've always enjoyed Kelly's historical fiction novels, and this series has both historical and mystery elements, which I really like. A quick read that keeps you guessing as to what's really going on with a somewhat sinister setting Although this is #2 in this series, it can be read as a stand-alone.

Thank you net galley for giving me this opportunity to read this book.
I really enjoyed it as I had read the first book and now can hardly wait for the next book.
It's set in England during WWII. Evelyne has graduated from her rigorous training.
She is partnered up with David as he being her handler.
Evelyne is tasked with finding out who has been behind thefts at Blackthorn Park.
But, not is all it seems. With investigating a death David becomes her partner in solving the case.
I found the story fast paced which kept me reading.
Thank you again net galley.
This is my own opinion of the book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of Julia Kelly's 'Betrayal at Blackthorn Park" in exchange for my review.

** This book is part of a series.

Newly graduated field agent Evelyne Redfern has her first assignment, to undertaken reconnaissance of a building being used to develop and test weapons intended for use by the Special Operations branch (WW2). Disappointed that her first official job is to check that their security is up to scratch, Evelyne's evening becomes far more interesting when she hears a gunshot from the building. Abandoning her assignment, Evelyne rushes to investigate and finds the chief engineer dead with a gunshot wound to the head. Her first assignment has officially become a murder inquiry. With the help of her handler, David Poole, she has only a few days to unmask the murderer before Prime Minster Winston Churchill's visit to the facility.

I've been a fan of Julia Kelly for a long time and followed her through her genre changes. This book is a well plotted historical mystery, and I love how she mixes her fiction with real people and the war marginally, but I still like it. The characters are well crafted. However, my one issue is that Evelyne found every single clue. I mean, there was almost no reason for David. I like his character, and it would be nice if it was a little more realistic. You know men can figure stuff out, too. I'm all for strong female characters, but so much in this world is geared to super women all the time.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books for providing this eARC, all opinions are my own.

Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I was thrilled to get my hands on an advanced copy of the sequel to A TRAITOR IN WHITEHALL. Evelyn Redfern and David Poole make a fantastic crime-solving team. In this adventure, they're sent to the countryside to uncover possible thefts at a weapons R&D facility. Is it theft or sabotage? Immediately upon Evelyne's arrival, someone is murdered and the clock is ticking for Evelyne and David to uncover what's going on before a visit from Winston Churchill.

Julia Kelly's writing is so sharp and on point..my only complaint: I finish her books way too quickly!! I look forward to the next installment in this mystery series. Highly recommend.

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this book. I enjoyed this WWII murder mystery set a a weapons development research facility. I did not read the first in the series and was able to follow and enjoy this one. It makes me want to find the first book to read and have definitely marked this one as a series to follow. Excellent plot, characters, and enough of a dangling ending to keep readers interested.