Betrayal at Blackthorn Park

A British weapons engineer is murdered during the early days of WWII in Kelly’s jaunty second adventure for budding spy Evelyne Redfern (after A Traitor in Whitehall). In 1940, former factory worker Evelyne has just completed her spy-craft training when she’s handed her first official mission: go to Blackthorn Park, a clandestine weapons facility in the Sussex countryside, and investigate an anonymous tip suggesting that vital supplies have gone missing. Just after she arrives, Evelyne hears a gunshot inside the building and rushes into the office of Sir Nigel Balram—a celebrated scientist who leads Blackthorn’s development team—to find him dead at his desk with a gun in his hand. While government officials quickly characterize Balram’s death as a suicide, Evelyne’s not so sure. She reluctantly links up with her handler, David Poole, to dig deeper, only to uncover a thorny conspiracy mere days before Winston Churchill is scheduled to visit Blackthorn Park. Most readers will be able to ferret out the culprit well before Evelyne and David do, but their simmering romantic chemistry and Kelly’s talent for brisk pacing win out in the end. Historical mystery fans will make quick work of this one. (Oct.)