Two deaths in the London diplomatic corps lead a determined woman seeking justice into the cross hairs of a Nazi spy.Autumn 1937 – Olivia Denis is the carefree young wife of a Foreign Office dignitary when her world is shattered. Police discover her husband fatally shot near the German embassy and declare it suicide. Olivia knows better. When she learns a German embassy clerk was murdered the … clerk was murdered the same night, she is certain her husband is not the traitor others claim. However, someone in the British government is.
Using her new position as a reporter for a powerful newspaper publisher, Olivia infiltrates London’s elegant society to hunt for the killer.
But someone watching Olivia is ready to strike if she gets too close to the biggest secret of all. Can Olivia survive her search for the truth?
Deadly Scandal, the first book in the Deadly series, is for fans of World War II era spy thrillers and classic cozy mysteries, of intrepid lady sleuths with spunk and smarts. No explicit cursing, sex, or violence.
Start exploring this journey of mystery and intrigue today as Britain and Germany draw dangerously close to war.
New cover. Corrections made to Americanisms. Same great story.
“I’m ever so glad to hear this is part of a series. It’s hard to get enough of our favorite characters, and Olivia definitely ranks on my list. I can’t wait to see what she gets up to next!” Back Porchervations
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This is such an entertaining mystery! Fast paced with lots of action, a gutsy sleuth, suspicious characters, pre-WWII political intrigue, and just the right touch of romance to keep the pages turning! Great fun and a great introduction to the Deadly Series.
This is a good book with interesting characters.
It is especially interesting to see how different characters work within and out side of the social mores of the time.
The mystery itself is puzzling with the resolution a surprise, but not an impossibility.
Olivia Denis is in the morgue identifying her deceased husband. It just can’t be her Reggie lying there covered in blood! Sweet, sweet Reggie. Now, they are trying to tell her he committed suicide. Of course he didn’t! She knows he couldn’t have – wouldn’t have – just NO! Even though she takes all of their reasoning and turns it back on them to convince them it is murder, they won’t budge. Well, if they won’t investigate a murder, she will because Reggie definitely didn’t kill himself.
In the two years prior to the beginning of WWII, London was teeming with foreigners – those truly seeking refuge from the Nazi atrocities in Europe, and those seeking to garner information to pass back to Hitler to aid in his invasion of England. There were also Englanders whose sympathies lay with Hitler as well. There were spies everywhere – there was even a major leak coming from Reggie’s office and they had yet to discover his identity.
Was Reggie the mole who was funneling information to the Nazis? No, of course not. Olivia would never be convinced of that – even though she has just learned many, many, many shocking things about the Reggie she thought she knew. Does that mean that maybe Reggie discovered who the spy is? Could they have murdered Reggie to keep him quiet? Why has someone broken into Olivia’s apartment and ransacked it? What are they looking for?
When more deaths occur and Olivia is constantly being followed, she doesn’t know who to trust. Can the handsome Captain Adam Redmond, of Army Intelligence, be trusted? He certainly turned up at a time that would have allowed him to be part of the problem rather than the solution. Goodness help her – she’s learning to trust and lean on him – has she misjudged him?
You’ll love seeing Olivia come into her own during this time. She has a contentious relationship with her overbearing father and he is livid when she refuses to be a dutiful daughter and move back to his home after Reggie’s death. She compounds his anger when she actually goes to work in order to be able to afford to live in the flat she and Reggie had shared. There is more to her job than meets the eye, and she really begins to find her way – and her courage – as the investigation comes to completion.
I really enjoyed listening to the audiobook. Henrietta Meire, did a nice job with a smooth-flowing narration. While she did different voices for each character, they weren’t distinct enough that I would have recognized the character without having the author identify who was speaking. I think you’ll enjoy listening to the story should you choose the audiobook.
I can definitely recommend this book – and this series. I actually read the second book first because my library didn’t have this one available at the time. That means I can already tell you the second book is a good one as well – but I did like this one better.
This is the first in a mystery series which starts not long before World War II. It’s a good mystery with a courageous heroine. The tense political situation is skillfully conveyed. I enjoyed it very much and immediately bought the next in the series.
I really enjoyed reading this book. A very smart plot, great sense of place and time, interesting characters, a very intriguing mystery that kept me guessing. I can’t wait to read the next in the series.