Betrayal at Blackthorn Park (Evelyne Redfern, 2)
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.
