Cathy C. (cathyskye) - , reviewed on 11/9/2019 + 2309 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 2

I love a good historical mystery, and I am so thankful for writers like Jacqueline Winspear and Susan Elia MacNeal for their series featuring women in war. Poppy Redfern and the Midnight Murders, Tessa Arlen's first Woman of World War II mystery, is an excellent addition.

From the opening scenes in London where Poppy was trained during almost nightly air raids, I was hooked. From London, readers move to the village homefront during the war. Fear, shortages, ration books, distrust of any stranger, Arlen brings the setting to life as Poppy walks the streets of Little Buffenden in the light of day and the pitch black of night. Poppy is an excellent protagonist. She's not quite village and not quite gentry, so she can move about in both worlds-- although she does have to outwit her overprotective grandparents when it comes to her investigating.

The mystery in Poppy Redfern and the Midnight Murders although good, isn't all that strong. It was very easy for me to deduce the killer's identity, for instance. No, this first book in a series is more about setting the stage and having readers get a feel for the time period and to become acquainted with the characters, and in this, it succeeds. So much so that I'm definitely looking forward to the next book in the series.

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