Review: A Traitor in Whitehall by Julia Kelly

A Traitor in Whitehall by Julia Kelly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided both a print and audio ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this! It is the first book in a new mystery series called the Parisian Orphan. This follows Evelyne Redfern, daughter of an English Royal and a French woman who had a very public and scandalous divorce. Now Evelyne is doing her part supporting the war effort working in a munitions factory, when an old family friend offers her a position as a typist working in Winston Churchill's secret underground. She is to report back to him anything strange she notices while on duty, yet on one of her first days one of her fellow typists is murdered and she becomes embroiled in an investigation to solve the murder and find out who is selling secrets to the Germans with one of the Prime Ministers most trusted aides. Evelyne has a way with people, and she is able to get potential suspects and witnesses to divulge information about the victim and potential suspects that the other investigators were not able to uncover. Paired with the aide, David Poole, the two are able to piece together a timeline and list of suspects for the murder and the mole within a few days.

This has a bit of a cozy mystery feel to it which I really enjoyed. It has moments of total convenience that don't always seem plausible. This is fairly common in cozy mysteries, and something you have to accept for the plot to work. This is set during WWII, however it isn't set on the front lines so it isn't quite as bleak as some of the other historical fiction from that time period that I've read. Evelyne and her friends make the best out of their situation and are still able to have a bit of fun here and there despite the conditions in London. This lightens up the mood in the book. There is also a hint at a budding romance between the two main characters in future installments of the series.

Overall, if you enjoy historical fiction and cozy mysteries give this a try. I really liked Evelyne and David as a team and look forward to seeing them team up in the next installment. This mystery wraps up, and gives hints to what David and Evelyne will get up to in their next investigation.

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