Death in a Blackout is the first Billie Harkness historical mystery by Jessica Ellicott. Released 3rd May 2022 by Severn House, it's 256 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. Paperback format out 27th Dec 2022. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
This is a well written mystery set mostly in the North of England during the early days of 1940 as WW2 is really heating up. Protagonist Wilhelmina, Billie, has moved because of the devastating loss of her mother and her father's capture as a prisoner of the war. She joins the police service as a WPC and is soon involved in untangling the death of a young woman in Hull.
The author is adept at writing the time period believably and the settings and dialogue are immersive and nuanced. The fictional parts are written around a framework of real historical events and the mystery itself is well constructed and engineered. There are some rough spots between point A where Billie is introduced as the strong-willed but relatively poor daughter of a local church rector to point B where she's managed to establish herself in Hull and acquire a position as a WPC in the local forces. Despite the rough start, the story is absorbing and the characters well rendered.
Four stars. Although not at all derivative, fans of Keith Finney's Lipton St. Faith series will likely enjoy this series as well.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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