Summary from Goodreads:
A historical mystery about a girl who risks everything to track down a vicious serial killer, for fans of The Enigma Game and A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder.
Virginia, 1943: World War II is raging in Europe and on the Pacific front when Kit Sutherland is recruited to help the war effort as a codebreaker at Arlington Hall, a former girls’ college now serving as the site of a secret US Signals Intelligence facility in Virginia. But Kit is soon involved in another kind of fight: Government girls are being brutally murdered in Washington DC, and when Kit stumbles onto a bloody homicide scene, she is drawn into the hunt for the killer.
To find the man responsible for the gruesome murders and bring him to justice, Kit joins forces with other female codebreakers at Arlington Hall—gossip queen Dottie Crockford, sharp-tongued intelligence maven Moya Kershaw, and cleverly resourceful Violet DuLac from the segregated codebreaking unit. But as the girls begin to work together and develop friendships—and romance—that they never expected, two things begin to come clear: the murderer they’re hunting is closing in on them…and Kit is hiding a dangerous secret.
Review:
What a way to start 2023! I remember really liking the mysteries this author wrote before, but none of them come close to comparing to how compelling this book was. One of my “Drop everything” books came out while I was reading this book, but I did not drop this book…I couldn’t. This book is so good, any favorite author could have released a book and I would not have stopped reading. That in itself is a big statement for me.
(Side note: this review is taking me forever to write…I have a dog that interrupts every sentence for me to throw a ball for her….)
If the spies, the feminism, the LGBT love story, the serial killer, the friendship story and the girls trying to solve the murder mystery isn’t enough, then add in some racial conflict, secret codes, actual quotes from female codebreakers from World War II, and fun nights out at night clubs and political social functions in DC. When I say this book is un-put-down-able I’m not kidding. I was up way too late reading, knowing full well I’d be exhausted the next day at work. These are the best kinds of books and there are so few of these any more for me.
The other shocking thing for me was I did not guess who the murderer was immediately. I was pleasantly surprised a few times throughout the story. Mystery readers, suspense readers, and historical fiction readers will all enjoy this one. It does go a bit dark; it involves a serial killer after all…and racism, and antisemitism. But, that makes the mystery that much more intense and interesting. The setting is very unique too. It takes place at at a secret US Signals Intelligence facility in Virginia for women. And the characters are fascinating! The main character has a secret that absolutely cannot get out.
I read this book remarkably fast. It’s the kind of book that kept me up late, and I sincerely hope this author keeps writing. I give it a 10/10.
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