Fans of Julia Kelly's historical novels met Evelyne Redfern in A TRAITOR IN WHITEHALL, where she is hired as a typist in the war department of the British government during WWII. There she stumbles upon a murder, and she and spy David Poole, who becomes her romantic interest, solve the crime.

In BETRAYAL AT BLACKTHORN PARK, Evelyne has been through training to become part of a unit that is involved in spying. For her first assignment, she is given something rather innocuous --- checking to see if there is any pilfering going on at Blackthorn Park, the site of clandestine testing of weapons for use in the war.

"Likable characters, a complex and intriguing plot, a setting that is based on real manor homes that were used for research and war machinations, and a very satisfying ending...all make for a perfectly lovely murder mystery and a series that readers will want to get in on right away."

As soon as Evelyne enters the house she is investigating, she hears a gunshot and rushes in. She finds a lifeless Sir Nigel Balram in his office with a pistol in his hand. To all appearances, he has killed himself. But Evelyne has her doubts due to the condition of Sir Nigel's desk. When the coroner confirms that it was murder disguised to look like a suicide, she and David begin a homicide investigation.

In addition to the myriad characters at Blackthorn Park who are suspects, Kelly presents us with an extremely capable woman who is viewed with suspicion by most of the men at that time, for whom seeing smart females in roles of authority is a rarity. Evelyne has no difficulty asking probing questions, and her ability to reason and consider all angles of their investigation means that she ultimately does solve the crime.

Evelyne is the perfect protagonist in a mystery series. She is a good friend who is kind and compassionate, and we admire her. We also want to know what happens between her and David, although in this book there is not much movement on the romantic front. What Kelly does make clear is that they are colleagues, and while David is much more experienced than Evelyne, he treats her as an equal in every important way. For that and other reasons, we admire David as well.

Likable characters, a complex and intriguing plot, a setting that is based on real manor homes that were used for research and war machinations, and a very satisfying ending (with a new conundrum that surely will be the beginning of the next book) all make for a perfectly lovely murder mystery and a series that readers will want to get in on right away.