This is a historical mystery set during WWII about a young lady who is working for the war office under a brigadier and is upset because several of her agents have died and she thinks it has to do with another operation called Operation Exodus.

When another one is murdered she is sent to the small village where it happened to work with Arthur who has asthma and isn't able to being in the military but is used in other ways as he can solve puzzles and is a bit of a codebreaker. Together along with Arthur's man servant Benson they try and figure out what happened and who has betrayed her team. Some are missing because of bombings while others might be hiding.

I really enjoyed this book though there were some things I found annoying. One of them being the main character. She just seemed to think she was a bit better than Arthur and it's probably a bit because he has a sickness that keeps him from doing a lot of things, but in many ways I thought he was smarter than her. She smoked like a chimney and in front of Arthur who has asthma! I thought that was very rude, I didn't care that she smoked this is a book set in the 40s but to do so in front of someone who has problems breathing was annoying.

The mystery I thought was done really well, although I figured out who done it, I did have to go back and forth on who I thought it was, then one of my suspects got eliminated and I had to reevaluate so I liked that.

All in all though it was a fun historical mystery and I think the three will be a fun team.

4 stars

Spies. Secret codes. A fluffy ginger cat. An unlikely duo. I couldn’t wait to get started!

Since this was the first book in a new series, there was a bit of a slow start to the book while things got set up, which is to be expected. But the action really picked up halfway through the book and things didn’t slow down until the very end.

I really like the premise – mixing in a spy network and secret code-breaking work with the usual village murder mystery. It really made for an interesting story. The mystery was well written and I particularly enjoyed immersing myself in the timeline. It was interesting to see how the second world war affected life in a small English Village (rather than a big city like London, where most war-time mysteries are set). The details and descriptions really created a vivid setting.

As for the characters… Jane took a bit to warm up to (I’m still not a fan of her inconsiderate chain smoking) but she is as feisty as they come and I like how she handles herself. I just hope that some of her more annoying characteristics will be toned down.

I do adore Arthur (and his butler Benson). I feel a bit sorry for Arthur – his life has been completely turned upside down. When I started the story I thought it would be a Jane-Arthur partnership, but I definitely think Benson is going to play a big part in the mystery solving in the future and I love that idea.

There is a lot to like about this new detective agency and I can’t wait to read more of their adventures!

*** Thank you to the publisher, Bookouture and Books on Tour, for providing me with an e-copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review during the blog tour.

I'm in my cosy mystery era st the moment and can't get enough of them!

Dixon is a new-to-me author and what better way to become acquainted with her writing style...The Detective Agency is the first in a promising new series featuring Jane Treen and her trusty sidek̶i̶c̶k̶ cat, Marmaduke.

The Detective Agency is based in Whitehall, London. The year is 1941 and WWII is raging. The author has clearly researched the time period, with her vivid descriptions of scenes, I was easily able to visualise them coming alive from the pages.

Treen was an easy to invest in character and I can't wait to catch up with her again.

An enjoyable and entertaining mystery.

Cosy crime has a ring to it doesn’t it. It makes it seem gentle and friendly but I think this ‘genre’ can, at times, be undervalued. I love a good mystery. I love a good puzzle and the latest thirst for this type of mystery, both in the printed novel and on our televisions, I believe, is an antidote to the all too real horrors that seem to be part of a very sad reality we are now living with. Books are important. They help us escape as well as to keep us informed. Now, if it is pure escapism with a dash of the villain getting their comeuppance, then The Secret Detective Agency, may just be a good fit.

The first in what I hope will be an intriguing series, The Secret Detective Agency, sees Miss Jane Treen and Arthur Cilento thrown together to investigate when a woman’s body is discovered in suspicious circumstances on Arthur’s country estate. The dead woman is know to Jane and the top-secret agency that she works for in the early dark days of the Second World War. Espionage and homicide often go hand in hand and it is imperative that they find the culprit before more agents are lost. Could there be a leak in the agency? Someone who is working with the enemy to target their spies, or is the killer even closer to home? These are dangerous times and everyone is under suspicion as things become deadly for Jane and Arthur as they come closer to the truth of why this woman had to die.

I did take a little while for me to warm to Jane in some ways. Her constant cigarette lighting was a little irritating but I could see the tension that it added to the relationship between her and Arthur. I hope that won’t need to continue too much in the next book. She did highlight the often important and dangerous jobs that women often held during the War and the difficulty they had with those who were less enthusiastic about women taking on more senior roles in a very male dominated world. By the end of the book I liked both her and Arthur very much and look forward to reading the next in the series, The Seaside Murders, which is due to be published at the end of April.

Now, I love Helena Dixon's Miss Kitty Underhay mysteries and I was both intrigued and a little apprehensive when this series was announced, but I needn't have worried! As with all of Helena Dixon's books, this was a well researched and well written historical cozy mystery that was entertaining from beginning to end.

A woman ends up dead in a lake behind Albert Cilento's house. She seems familiar to him and he has a sinking suspicion that it might have something to do with the secret work he has done in the past for the government. That suspicion turns out to be correct when Miss Jane Treen turns up and forces him, much to his annoyance, to help solve the case. They're thrown into a dangerous world of espionage while dealing with the realities of world war two going on around them.

Miss Jane Treen is a sharp minded, no nonsense sleuth with a coffee and cigarette addiction. Her only soft side comes out when she's with her cat, Marmaduke. Albert Cilento is the perfect foil for her. He's an introverted mathematician with asthma who much prefers his own company. Together they make a good team even if they don't believe it themselves most of the time!

I was curious about the setting of world war two. I was like, how are you going to have a mystery when there is a war raging in the background? But it ended up adding a lot of tension and peril to the story.

The beginning of the story starts off a little slowly, getting to know our sleuths and suspects before ramping up to an exciting and action packed ending.

I thoroughly enjoyed Jane and Arthur's first outing together and look forward to reading what they get up to next!

Really enjoyed this book and really hope there are more in the pipeline.

It's 1941 and London is at war, Jane Treen is in her office in Whitehall when she receives a telephne call about a dead body which is found in the grounds on the estate of Arthur Cilentro who is a code breaker of some repute, both of these people who work for top secret government departments will have to unite to find out what is happening to agents from a previous mission.

Engaging, evocative, with good humour and great characters, highly recommended

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'The Secret Detective Agency' by Helena Dixon.

This book was very well written and as always the fact that Helena has done her research is clearly evidenced in the storyline so a MASSIVE CONGRATULATIONS to Helena!!! There is not much worse than an author who has not researched much or at all about his chosen topic which means the book is unnecessarily littered with mistakes which can ruin a storyline!! However, Helena has completely avoided this by doing her research on the era she has set this amazing series in. This is the first book in Helena's new 'The Secret Detective Agency' and what an absolutely fantastic introduction to this new series it is!! I have read several of Helena's 'A Miss Underhay Mystery' series which I absolutely loved and would also highly recommend!

I am going to start my review a bit different to how I normally start them. Do you know when you found an author and that author has written a series that you absolutely LOVE with everything you have, from the characters, the locations to the storylines. And you know when that author then ends, yep ends, that series and starts a new series. Your heart freezes, you worry, I mean what are you going to do without your beloved characters and your home away from home? Well, ladies and gentleman! Helena Dixon did EXACTLY that. I was bewitched, in love, addicted (you get the idea) to her absolutely stunning 'A Miss Underhay Mystery series', if you haven't read those then WHY haven't you read them? Call yourself a cosy crime fan and yet you have never met Kitty? Tut, tut!! Anyway, one of my favourite authors then decides to take Kitty Underhay away from me and then starts a new series called 'the Secret Detective Agency', of which this is the first book. Well, I tell myself that's great!! I cannot wait to get into it! However, how the heck am I going to love it as much as Miss Underhay and her gang plus her mysteries and I could go on. Well, there is no chance is there? Well I said I would read it, I am sure I will love it but what I withheld is that I was dubious to how I could love Miss Jane Treen and the rest as much as I loved Kitty, Matt and the rest. Well, well, well let me ask you, yes you Helena, what sort of magic have you got going brewing? How did you do it?? How on Earth HAVE YOU created a second series JUST as amazing as 'A Miss Underhay' with characters that I have already fallen for? I am just pleased to say that the second book in this series which is called 'The Seaside Murders' is available to preorder now and will be published on the 30th April!! I mean as you could, possibly, maybe be able to tell I absolutely love, Love, LOVE this fantastic must read cosy crime book and explosive start to another guaranteed epic series, the characters, the storyline and just absolutely everything about the fantastic 'The Secret Detective Agency'!! Congratulations Helena on yet ANOTHER absolute fantastic masterpiece!!! It does not matter what I am reading when Helena drops a book I drop everything to read it! Sod reading the synopsis when I know I will absolutely LOVE it!! If you are looking for an addictive new series to sink your teeth into with a storyline filled with crime, mystery, gorgeous settings, history and so, SO much more stuff wasting your time reading what I have written when you can be reading so much better in this series and book!! Once you have finished this absolute gorgeous book, fallen in love with Helena Dixon and this series you are in luck as if you LOVED this book then head over to her 'A Miss Underhay Mystery' series where you will meet another group of amazing characters and more stunning settings while you are waiting for the next book in this series to be published!

This book an fantastic and addictive introduction to what absolutely promises to be another amazing, addictive and EPIC new series! However, I cannot say I am surprised as I have absolutely loved each book I have read by this amazing author. I do not even bother reading the synopsis of Helena's books before I start reading as I know I will love it whatever the back says!! I absolutely fell in love with the characters, the stunning settings, the storyline and just absolutely everything about this book when I started reading it and I am just so glad as I know this series is going to be just like her Kitty Underhay series, a much loved series that when I am transported to it I will not want to leave!! When you grab this gorgeous book Helena will take you on a time travelling journey back to the year 1941 and will transport you to London and then the stunning Devon where you will meet Jane Treen and her cat Marmaduke. Jane loves coffee, cigarettes and solving mysteries thanks to her work in a secret Government agency which manages agents. We also meet Arthur Cilento who also works for the secret service as a code break. Arthur lives in Devon and much prefers a quieter life due to the fact that he has chronic asthma. When Jane's agents go missing and some are found murdered, one in the home of Arthur, they are both determined to get to the bottom of what is going on. Jane ends up moving in with Arthur in order to solve the case quicker. Arthur is not best pleased though as Marmaduke's, smoking and chronic asthma don't exactly go well together!!! Thankfully Arthur has got a butler to help him out and he is a great help throughout. Benson also joins in with the investigation but can they get to the killer before it is too late? Well, if you want to know more you will have to grab your copy of this absolutely action packed and explosive page turner today and I promise that you will not regret it!!! You may even discover your new favourite author and series!! The fact that Helena truly does care for these amazing characters leaps out of the pages in their incredible character development and her evocative descriptions!! The twist at the end left me absolutely gob smacked, I mean my jaw was hitting the floor!!! There was no way on Earth I would ever seen that one coming!! A MASSIVE CONGRATULATIONS Helena!!! It is getting harder and harder to shock me after reading hundreds of thrillers and crime books but you managed it hook, line and sinker!! I also want to say that even though there is so much going on at no point did I get confused which is an absolute credit to Helena's fantastic writing skills but she also wrapped everything up perfectly in the end and I am definitely looking forward to getting stuck in to the next book 'The Secret Detective Agency' series. One of the other things I love about this book is that although it is predominantly a crime is the fact that Helena also includes some humour!!! It is always nice to have humour thrown into books filled with darkness to lighten the atmosphere and Helena has the balance perfectly. The location , characters, descriptions are all just absolutely perfect with Helena's evocative writing skills bringing absolutely everything and everyone to life right in front of the readers eyes!! This book is fantastically written and had me hooked from the first page until the last. I gave up counting how many times I told myself one more chapter just to HAVE to know what happened next as this happened over and over until I ended up devouring the whole book in one sitting!!!

This is one of the few books that I have listened 100% on Audiobook. If I listen to a book on audiobook I usually also read the physical book between but I listened to the whole book and I was impressed! I must say a HUGE congratulations to the narrator Kristin Atherton
who did an absolutely amazing job bringing this story and the characters to life. I would listen to this book in the car and while walking at any opportunity. I'm not only looking forward to reading more books by Helena but also to listening to more books narrated by Kristin.

I love that there are several amazing, unique and colourful characters in this series and I became completely invested in each and every one of their lives immediately. Although I still miss Kitty, Matt and the gang these ones are definitely filing the gap that they left!! I loved getting to know each and every single one of them. I really cannot wait to read the next books in this absolutely amazing series. The characters were all realistic and it was lovely to watch all the different relationships and friendships between different characters develop and grow. The fact that Jane has a ginger cat called Marmaduke is right down my street being a huge animal lover myself. I run my own animal rescue called Golden Oldies Cat Rescue And Hospice which you can find on social media so any books that contain animals always get bonus points from me! Congratulations Helena on creating another group of larger than life and unforgettable characters!!!

Congratulations Helena on yet another huge success!!! I cannot wait to get stuck into more of your books and this is exactly why you are on my favourite author list!!! Here is to your next guaranteed success 🥂!!

Overall YET AGAIN, another absolutely addictive and unputdownable cosy crime by Helena and an absolutely fantastic start to this new and addictive series that will keep you up all night.

#TheSecretDetectiveAgency #TheSecretDetectiveAgency #HelenaDixon #KristinAtherton #Bookouture #BookoutureAnonymous #Bookstagrammer

@HelenaDixon @KristinAtherton @Bookouture @BookoutureAnonymous

https://m.facebook.com/Bookworm1986/?ref=bookmarks

https://m.facebook.com/Bookwork86/?__tn__=%2As-R

https://www.instagram.com/bookwormwhitlock86/

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/34299953-kirsty-bookworm86

https://mobile.twitter.com/kcmw86

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/profile/amzn1.account.AFZ2XZBSFHIHXBXGZLBQ666XVK4A?ie=UTF8&ref_=ya_mb_l_prf

Thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for this ARC. This series is a bit different to Helena Dixon's Miss Underhay series. I was expecting the same but this felt less cozy, a bit more serious. Perhaps its the setting, spies in WW2. Whatever it was, it was a great read, even if the ending seemed a little rushed. Hoping the second will be just as good.

Helena Dixon regales readers with the pairing of an unlikely duo, Miss Jane Treen and Arthur Cilento. The pair have at least one thing in common. Both work in similar fields: Jane has a top-secret government job, while Arthur is a code breaker. Their paths cross when Jane arrives at his residence, accompanied by her cat Marmaduke. Arthur finds their presence, especially Jane’s, quite annoying, especially when she announces they’ll be staying for the foreseeable future.

The timing, as well as their lines of work, are delicate. It is right in the middle of WWII and their work is of great significance. When one of the agents that works with Jane is found dead, her boss sends her to work with Arthur.

I enjoy new series like this. Admittedly, the book started a bit slow, but that was no doubt due to the introduction of Jane, Arthur, and Chief Inspector Thorne, whom they consult with. The setting and the mystery were intriguing, and I found myself enjoying both Jane and Arthur. When you factor in the excellent narration by Kristin Atherton, especially when it came to the voicing of the different protagonist, it turned out to be a very engaging read. I can only imagine the adventures they’ll face together in the future.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

THE SECRET DETECTIVE AGENCY (The Secret Detective Agency Book #1) by Helena Dixon is a historical cozy mystery introducing two British government agents working with clandestine agents being sent overseas in occupied Europe during 1941. A group of Miss Jane Treen’s agents are missing and turning up dead. Her boss assigns her to work with codebreaker Arthur Cilento when one of the missing agents ends up dead in a lake by his property in Devon. The blurb had me quickly picking up this book, but I ended up being disappointed.

The mystery starts out slowly, but I expect that in a new series due to setting up not only the mystery, but the new characters for the series, but it took too long for me. The mystery plot pace does pick up about halfway through the story, it does have a good resolution, and the author does a good job with her descriptions of the historic period settings, which is why I gave it a three-star rating. In the beginning of the story, the main characters are continually bouncing between the missing and dead agents’ code names and real names which is confusing, and I needed a cheat sheet to keep it straight. I usually love a strong, independent female protagonist, but Jane is a chain smoker with no consideration of others. Add to that Arthur has asthma and does not tell her to stop, which I found a major irritant that continually threw me out of the story. Overall, just not what I was hoping for.

Sometimes, you just need to read a good cozy mystery that you can curl up with and spend the day getting lost in. One that will transport you to a different time in a different place.

I’m here to tell you that this is that kind of book!

There’s trouble afoot against the backdrop of the Second World War, as agents that had been involved in a secret mission are disappearing, and later, turning up dead. Obviously not something that Jane Teen is keen on as she tries to work her way up through the intelligence world. When another agent is found dead on a remote English estate, she teams up with the owner of the property, also an intelligence officer, and the pair set off on a thrilling mystery.

This one has it all, folks. At least, everything I was looking for in historical English mystery that involves spies. There are mistaken, identities, twists, proper English butlers, gossiping, villagers, and of course, a one-eyed cat. There’s really not a lot more that you can ask for, is there? I thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere of the author set up. It transported me right to the countryside of 1941 England. It was exactly the vacation I needed.

I also loved the two main characters in this book. I’m excited the author is starting this as a series because I can’t wait to read more about them, especially as we really just got to know them in this book and it feels like there’s a lot more to unravel about their personalities.

I look forward to the next book.

Jane Treen is a secret detective. One day a woman was found dead in a lake. Jane is called to investigate the case. However, Jane crosses paths with a shy Codebreaker named Arthur Cilento. Together, they team up to crack a coded diary and solve the case.

I thought that Jane was a very fun character! She was a cat fanatic and brought her cat with her everywhere she went. I also thought that she was very energetic. She was also very observant and is very passionate about crime! There were a few of her actions that I disagreed with. I also believed that she is selfish and judgmental at times. Nevertheless, Jane was a very quirky and enjoyable character!

I liked her relationship with Arthur. It took a lot for me to get invested in. I felt bad for Arthur because she did not take his health problems into consideration. However, they gradually grew to understand each other and were able to value the other’s talent. Therefore, their relationship grew on me, and I began to root for them. Their relationship eventually became one of the strongest aspects of this novel!

Overall, this novel is about secrets, war, and friendship. I liked all of the characters. I thought that they were very fun! I was also intrigued by the mystery and thought it was compelling! The novel is written in a humorous style! The novel also gave a good description of WWII, and thought that it was well-researched! Therefore, The Secret Detective Agency is a very light hearted and solid cozy mystery! I can’t wait to read the sequel, The Seaside Murders, soon! I am excited to revisit the characters again! I recommend this for fans of Maisie Dobbs, Mr. Churchill’s Secretary, and Her Royal Spyness!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

I enjoy reading mysteries, and this was an enjoyable read. Set in the 1940s in London, and I appreciate the comparatively “slower” pace of the book compared to more “modern” writing. No need for modern technology of phones, just good old fashion crime solving.

January 1941. Miss Jane Treen is the overseer of Operation Exodus. She travelled to Half Moon Manor, the home of recently arrived code breaker Arthur Cilento as one of her agents has been found dead in his garden. That makes four of her six agents dead. Jane and Arthur join forces but where and who is the traitor, and the murderer as the deaths continue. Is there a network of spies working for the enemy.
An entertaining and well-written historical mystery with its two interesting and likeable main characters. Supported by a cast of varied personalities. A good start to this new series
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Sarah Hardy and the publisher for issuing me with my review copy of the book and for inviting me to take part on the blog tour.

The Secret Detective Agency is a brand new series by Helena Dixon and set during the second world war in 1941. Miss Jane Treen works for a secret detective agency in London and is tasked with trying to find out the identity of a woman found dead in the lake of Arthur Cilento's stately home in Devon. Arthur also works for the government as a codebreaker and is about as different from Jane as anyone could possibly be! Jane is quite a forthright career women who loves coffee and cigarettes, along with her cat Marmaduke. Arthur likes the quiet life and has asthma and is back in Devon recuperating so is shocked when Miss Treen turns up on his doorstep.

Jane and Arthur are an interesting detective duo and I quite enjoyed learning a little about their past and lives. Jane is a character that you definitely learn to like, the more you read. She is quite prickly to start with but the time spent with the more compassionate Arthur, does seem to help thaw her a little bit especially as we learn more of the agents under her supervision have been found dead. Are the mysterious deaths linked - that is what Arthur and Jane are determined to find out.

The Secret Detective Agency is a really good introduction to a new series that I thoroughly enjoyed. The main characters are perfectly matched, each bringing their own unique talents to the investigation, that just makes them work well together along with help from Benson, Arthur's faithful butler. What I also really liked about this book was that the author didn't try to shoehorn the main characters into a romance. This may happen in the future but it was refreshing to read about the characters working relationship.

I'm looking forward to the second book in the series already (and have already signed up for the blog tour...!)

Highly enjoyable.

Jane is the epitome of a woman surviving and thriving in a male dominated world. WWII rages around the world and Jane is at the centre of the maelstrom of chaos. But when her network of spies are getting murdered, she is sent to Devon to investigate. With the help of super smart but very asthmatic Arthur and his ever helpful and efficient manservant, Benson, Jane will make short work of this mystery!

Jane is brash, brusque and used to bossing folk about and she is not the easiest person to like. You get glimpses of the private Jane - the protectiveness of her agents, the need to understand what happened and...avoiding her mother! She survives on coffee, the love of her cat and chaos. Arthur is a bit a nerdy MC and he's not the usual action-powered MMC - he is very cerebral but he can pull out some other skills when need be. They would never usually be the kind of partners either would want but they weirdly work well together.

The pacing was a wee bit slow in the first part of the book and it could have done with a bit more oomph but when the plot picks up it's a great wee murder mystery and moves along well. The red herrings and twists and turns pile up and our newly minted detectives are in the thick of it. I'm off to order book 2 to see where our detectives end up next!

An awesome historical mystery. I think Jane and Arthur made a great team. I'm so looking forward to more twisty, top secret mysteries from this pair. It was hard not to read in one sitting.

Murder mystery set in 1941 England during the war.

Miss Jane Treen works at Whitehall overseeing a cadre of secret agents for Brigadier Remington-Blythe. Hard and driven, she’s a chain smoker with a serious coffee addiction. She has no desire to go chasing after missing agents out in the country out of her comfort zone, but needs must when another of her agents goes dark after being hidden away for her own protection at a safe house. She travels to Half Moon Manor to work with codebreaker and puzzle solver Arthur Cilento. He has returned from a work mission for the War Office to find a dead body in the river by his home. Could this woman be Jane’s missing agent? Thus begins a reluctant partnership as the two try to trace a complicated organization of what might be traitors to the British government.

Let’s see — it took me quite a while to get invested in this time period and story. I didn’t immediately warm to the main characters of Jane (annoying) or Arthur (sickly) and the set up of them being forced to work together. The plot and the many different side characters seemed overly complicated and there were a lot of deaths as Jane and Arthur chased around with only the most flimsy of clues. I was definitely happy that the cat in this book had limited involvement and infrequent mention.

The plot was convoluted and the denouement seemed rushed after all the suspects couldn’t really be interrogated. I’ll have to reserve my thoughts about where this series might be going and if I will follow it after I read the second book. Not sure this unlikely pair will hold my interest if there is more repetition about Jane’s smoking and coffee and Arthur’s asthma. I surely hope no romance between them as she seems a determined spinster and him a confirmed bachelor. Of course there is also the faithful man servant who seems to be essential to the detecting and is always behind the scenes greasing the wheels.

I was able to listen to the audiobook while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. The performance of the narrator, Kristin Atherton, was excellent. She did a fantastic job with all the voices and the transitions were seamless. Her dramatic flair made the book so much more enjoyable.

London 1941. Secret government worker Miss Jane Treen is addicted to coffee and cigarettes. Unfortunately, her new partner prefers tea and is asthmatic. ‘The Secret Detective Agency’ is first in a new series of cosy mysteries by Helena Dixon, author of the 1930s Kitty Underhay detective books.
Starting the first book of a new series is always a risky thing, it takes time to set up characters, back stories, context and as a result the pace can be slow. But I enjoy the Kitty books and the wartime setting of ‘The Secret Detective Agency’ is another plus. Miss Treen works for an unnamed government department running Operation Exodus, her team of secret agents assist the escape of double agents from Germany to the UK. But Jane’s agents are dying and when Polly Flinders is killed at a safe house in Devon, Jane is sent to investigate. Her boss, referred to as The Brigadier, teams her up with asthmatic code breaker Arthur Cilentro. They make an unlikely pairing, especially in the first half of the book. Chain-smoking Jane brings her long-haired cat Marmaduke with her to stay at Arthur’s house, Half Moon Manor. While the two investigators sniff around, asking questions, squabbling and sulking as they go, Arthur’s manservant Benson is the grown-up.
This is a story of wartime spies, treason, double dealing and multiple identities with rather confusing code names. By the time Miss Treen and Mr Cilentro have relaxed together enough to call each other Jane and Arthur, the death toll has increased. Fuelled by gossip in an isolated wartime village where everyone’s business is well-known, the two detectives realise that everyone is a suspect.
It is inevitable that the trio – don’t forget the indispensable Benson, who is always on hand with the essentials without which Jane and Arthur would simply fail – will morph into a team by the end of this novel. I expected Arthur to be quite bookish; he is, but also a fussy bachelor with severe breathing problems and a sharp analytical mind. I expected Jane to be an efficient professional young woman from London, responsible for a top secret mission; she is, but as a detective on the ground she can be naïve and not tight-lipped enough. She also ignores Arthur’s asthma. I got a bit fed up of her blowing smoke in Arthur’s direction and letting her cat into his sitting room. Thankfully as the story progresses, the two learn to appreciate each other’s skills and their relationship becomes less spiky.
More a cosy wartime mystery than cosy crime, this is a good start to a new series which offers something different. Irritations aside, this was a quick enjoyable read. I enjoyed the wartime espionage setting and the idea of a government detective agency specialising in crimes too secret for the police. It’s easy to have unreasonably high expectations of a new series and, looking back to my review of the first Kitty Underhay mystery ‘Murder at the Dolphin Hotel,’ it too was a 3* read for me. I’m now a firm fan of Kitty and Matt’s investigations in 1930s Dartmouth.
Coming soon is the second instalment of Jane and Arthur’s investigations, ‘The Seaside Murders.’ Hints about Jane’s family background, including a glamorous actress mother, are sure to become storylines in future novels.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-reviews-a-z/

A Detective agency in Whitehall!

An unusual spinster, an asthmatic mathematical intellect and his quite efficient manservant end up working for a secret agency within Whitehall.
It’s 1941. Jane Treen has been running agents for an important behind the lines operation.
When the operation appears compromised they were withdrawn. Jane had installed one with a minder in a safe house in Devon only she knew about.
Unfortunately that agent has turned up dead in a local pond found by Arthur Cilento who’s just arrived home from his own highly secretive war work. He’s quite annoyed that the people his house had been rented out to were Jane’s agents and no one told him.
We have here a somewhat different trio of people who are determined to solve the dilemma. Then there’s the questions. Who else has been compromised? Who’s behind this?
I was very cross by the chain smoking Jane who seems to have no thought for the asthmatic Arthur, focused as she is on her own concerns.
The manservant, Bensen, as always, contributes calmly.
I admit it became obvious there was a link in the village but the how and why was interesting.
A very treadable, cozy murder mystery/spy plot

A Bookouture ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)