The Secret Detective Agency by Helena Dixon Narrator: Kristin Atherton
Series: The Secret Detective Agency #1
Published by Bookouture Audio on March 27, 2025
Source: NetGalley
Genres: Historical Mystery
Length: 7 hrs 25 mins
Pages: 324
Format: Audiobook
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Meet Miss Jane Treen – the coffee-drinking cat lover dressed head to toe in tweed, who just happens to be a secret super sleuth!
London, 1941: Miss Jane Treen is at her desk, strong black coffee in hand and fluffy ginger cat by her side, when her top-secret government work is interrupted by an urgent call to Devon. A woman has been found dead in a lake in a place where she shouldn’t have been. Jane needs to gather the clues and find the killer before someone else from the agency gets hurt…
Shy and handsome code-breaker Arthur Cilento is bewildered by the arrival of the efficient Miss Treen and her cat Marmaduke. She bursts into his life unexpectedly, forcing him out of his comfort zone. The reluctant colleagues huddle near the warmth of a crackling fire in Arthur's country home, working to piece together the murderous puzzle at hand.
In the sleepy Devon village, someone is hiding something: but is it the busybody vicar and his sister, the dutiful housekeeper and her secretive son, the stern librarian, or someone else altogether? And who were the people with the woman in the lake on the day she died?
No sooner have Arthur and Jane have drawn up a list of suspects, than a parcel reveals a clue that sends them in hot pursuit of a coded diary stashed in a village church. But as the heavy wooden door slams behind them and a key turns in the lock, one thing is they need to unravel the truth and crack this code before the killer decides their number is up…
But if they can catch the culprit in time, might this unusual pair become the finest crime-solving partnership since Holmes and Watson hung up their hats…?
The Secret Detective Agency has a good set up. We’re in London in 1941, right in the middle of WW2. Jane Treen, a mid level spymaster working in Whitehall, is concerned because several of her agents who were connected with Operation Exodus have been murdered. There seems to be a mole in their midst. Most recently, Kate Trevellian was murdered in a small village outside of Exeter, at Half Moon Manor, the home of Arthur Cilento. Arthur, conveniently, is a mathematician and codebreaker who also works for the government. Arthur had been renting the house out to Kate, and he has just returned home, so is not a suspect. Jane’s boss sends her to Half Moon Manor to work with Arthur to figure out who murdered Kate and uncover the plot to kill off the remaining Operation Exodus spies.
Jane and Arthur are total contrasts to each other. Jane is intuitive, on the move, and a chain-smoker (as we are told often). Arthur is an introvert, logic-oriented and has severe asthma. For Arthur, having Jane and her cat in the house is almost a nightmare. For Jane, having to put up with his glares and dragging him around with her is annoying. They do work together well though but their interactions can be frustrating for the reader. Maybe they’re supposed to give Holmes and Watson vibes, one cerebral, one more action-oriented, but it fails. And Arthur’s man servant, Benson, seems to be the most competent of all of them.
The plot is fine. Each clue points the pair to the next. There is a bit of danger and a couple of twists.
I listened to the audio and the narrator did a good job. Each character had a distinct voice and the pace worked well for the story.
Overall, the book was good enough that I will consider picking up the sequel but not so good that it’s a must-read. And although it’s being marketed as a “totally gripping historical English cozy murder mystery,” I don’t think it was totally gripping and espionage intrigue and spy masters don’t really fit the “cozy” description.
About Helena Dixon
Helena Dixon is a multi-award winning best selling author living in Devon. She writes contemporary romance as Nell Dixon and golden age style historical cozy crime as Helena Dixon. She is represented by the Kate Nash Literary Agency.
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