For My Ears: The Lost Girls of Penzance and A Traitor in Whitehall

As the interminable commute continues, I’ve been listening to audiobooks from Net Galley. I love that NG offers audiobooks to reviewers!

Two good ones I listened to this month were The Lost Girls of Penzance by Sally Rigby and A Traitor in Whitehall by Julia Kelly.

I love a good mystery! This one was set in Penzance (no pirates!) in Cornwall and kept me on the edge of my seat. It was narrated by Clare Corbett and I loved her voice and accent. She also was good at changing her voice to fit different characters.

Here’s the scoop:

Description

The pale outline of bones in the dew-laden grass catches and holds Lauren’s gaze. In the distance, she can hear the faint sound of crashing waves and the eerie screech of seagulls. Whose life was so brutally cut short in this beautiful, lonely place?

Detective Lauren Pengelly has only been part of the Penzance police force for less than two years, but that’s enough time to know that the sleepy Cornish town doesn’t see many murders. So, when the bones of a woman with a hole in her skull are discovered behind a derelict cottage, she immediately assumes the worst.

Rallying her team, Lauren is flooded with a strange sense of relief when the bones turn out to be almost twenty years old, not a recent victim. But it quickly turns to dread when she receives her second heart-stopping call of the day – a little girl, Isla, has been kidnapped from her nursery and seemingly vanished, despite strict security in the building. Are the two cases connected, or could the peaceful town of Penzance be harbouring more than one monster?

With the help of Detective Matt Price, her newly arrived second-in-command, Lauren is certain the suspicious behaviour of Isla’s estranged father on the day of her disappearance is a critical clue. But when another little girl is taken, again from her nursery in the middle of the day, it’s clear Lauren and Matt are still dangerously far away from discovering the harrowing truth…

Get ready to be totally hooked! From the bestselling author of the Cavendish & Walker series, you won’t be able to put this murder mystery down. Fans of Angela Marsons, Rachel McLean and J M Dalgliesh will love it.

Moving back in time, I also listened to the WWII mystery A Traitor in Whitehall, ably read by Marisa Calin (who has a smooth, calming voice and the ability to change accents as needed). If you know me, you know I love WWII mysteries that take place in England and involve women working under cover!

Here’s the scoop:

Description

“Calin’s versatile characterizations, subtle accents, and comfortable pacing capture this privileged world wherein modern ideas clash with traditional values” —AudioFile on The Last Dance of the Debutante

From Julia Kelly, internationally bestselling author of The Last Dance of the Debutante, comes the first in the mysterious and immersive Parisian Orphan series, A Traitor in Whitehall.

“Kelly spins an Agatha Christie-esque mystery . . . thoroughly delightful and well-researched.”—Susan Elia MacNeal

1940, England: Evelyne Redfern, known as “The Parisian Orphan” as a child, is working on the line at a munitions factory in wartime London. When Mr. Fletcher, one of her father’s old friends, spots Evelyne on a night out, Evelyne finds herself plunged into the world of Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s cabinet war rooms.

However, shortly after she settles into her new role as a secretary, one of the girls at work is murdered, and Evelyne must use all of her amateur sleuthing expertise to find the killer. But doing so puts her right in the path of David Poole, a cagey minister’s aide who seems determined to thwart her investigations. That is, until Evelyne finds out David’s real mission is to root out a mole selling government secrets to Britain’s enemies, and the pair begrudgingly team up.

With her quick wit, sharp eyes, and determination, will Evelyne be able to find out who’s been selling England’s secrets and catch a killer, all while battling her growing attraction to David?

A Macmillan Audio production from Minotaur Books.