Intrepid, intelligent woman takes on Whitehall!

A Traitor in Whitehall (Parisian Orphan #1) by Julia Kelly      

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Fantastic. A great new series set in World War II with a strong female lead. I know there’s been a plethora of these cropping up but let me tell you I read this into the wee hours of the morning.

Evelyne Redfern is a brilliant character. A character with a past established early on. The ‘Paris Orphan’ the newspapers called her as a child. She was part of a high profile custody battle that raged across the Chanel divide for two years, until her mother died supposedly by suicide. As a child Evelyne always felt something was wrong, but who listens to a thirteen year old child? Maman was French. (And yes, Evelyne is fluent in French) Her father was Sir Reginald Redfern, a high society adventurer and womanizer, who didn’t change his spots once he was married.

After her mothers death Sir Reginald gathered up Evelyne and dropped her at an exclusive Boarding School. Evelyne maybe saw her father twice after that. He’s still alive and apparently somewhere in Mexico.

Through fortuitous circumstances Evelyne comes to work and observe in Whitehall. She’s due for sun lamp treatment. When she goes there she discovers a body in the lamp room. I know! (I was interested to read about why people would need such treatment when working in Whitehall.)

One thing leads to another and Evelyne finds herself investigating alongside David Poole, although at first he thought she was taking notes. Ha! Not our girl! Did I mention that she’s a fan of Agatha Christie et. al. David’s more a fan of the American gumshoe type detective like Sam Spade. Makes for some light hearted exchange!

The ending was not surprising, although what was going on was.

Evelyne is a character easy to relate to.

I foresee endless possibilities for further titles in this series, so here’s hoping more follow!

A Minotaur invitation ARC via NetGalley.                                              

Many thanks to the author and publisher.