Category: Interwar Period (Nov 1918 – Sep 1939)

The period between the end of WWI and the beginning of WWII

Mydworth Mysteries – City Heat by Matthew Costello

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Mydworth Mysteries - City Heat (A Cosy Historical Mystery Series Book 10)

Barbara’s rating: 3.7 of 5 Stars
Series: Mydworth Mysteries #10
Publication Date: 12/23/21
Period: Interwar – 1930
Number of Pages: 145

I always love the quick reads in this series. Kat and Harry are always fun and their witty banter during the tense moments of an investigation is very entertaining. For some reason, this time, the book just didn’t resonate with me. It almost seemed as if Kat and Harry were cartoon versions of themselves or something. I think maybe the circumstances and the plot just seemed ‘off’ somehow. I can’t put my finger on it exactly, but it just doesn’t come up to the caliber of the other books in the series.

Kat and Harry, Lord and Lady Mortimer, have long wanted to make a trip from England to New York so Harry can meet Kat’s family. Harry is so excited about their arrival, and he can hardly wait to begin seeing New York through Kat’s eyes. Of course, the best-laid plans often go astray and theirs certainly did. As soon as they check into their hotel, Kat receives an urgent message from her old mentor. Groan! Should they go see why they are needed – especially since the message said it was a matter of life and death.

There has been a kidnapping involving the grandson of one of New York’s richest moguls and Kat and Harry are needed to assure he is safely returned – and to recover the money if possible. With betrayals, mobsters, and dysfunctional families, the poor young man who was kidnapped may not make it home alive.

I liked Kat’s family and would have liked to spend more page time with them. It would have been much more interesting to have them more involved in the mystery – or maybe even to have the mystery revolve around them somehow. Bringing the strangers into it just cut out time we could have spent getting to know the Reilly family.

I enjoyed this book, but it definitely isn’t my favorite of the series.

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Deadly Scandal by Kate Parker

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Deadly Scandal (Deadly, #1)Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Series: Deadly #1
Publication Date: 2/25/16
Period: 1937 – Interwar London
Number of Pages: 278 Print – I had the audiobook

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.

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