Murder on the Home Front

In Ellicott’s intriguing second Billie Harkness mystery (after 2022’s Death in a Blackout), naive rector’s daughter Harkness is settling into her position as one of two women constables in the British city of Hull in the early days of WWII. Harkness may be inexperienced, but she has a talent for detecting, which doesn’t sit well with her male colleagues, who believe policing is men’s work. One afternoon, Harkness receives a report that a man posing as an air raid shelter inspector might be robbing shelters of supplies to sell on the black market. Harkness and her partner, Special Const. Peter Upton, follow up and find a man strangled to death in one of the emptied shelters. As the investigation unfolds, they discover the murdered man was involved in several shady enterprises, one of which may have gotten him killed. Harkness’s colleagues don’t think much of the case, but she suspects there are threads to pull—even if doing so might make her some powerful enemies. Ellicott seamlessly weaves the mystery plot into a fascinating look at life on the British home front. Historical mystery fans will find much to enjoy. Agents: Meg Ruley and Christina Hogrebe, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (May)