Poppy Redfern and the Midnight Murders

 Poppy Redfern and the Midnight Murders by Tessa Arlen    320 pages

When I read a mystery, I don’t often try to figure out who-dun-it.  For me, it’s more fun to be as surprised…or shocked…as the other characters in the story.  This one had me guessing until Poppy figured it out. The clues were there along, foreshadowing the name of killer, but I missed it completely.

It’s summer 1942. The English village of Little Buffenden has mostly felt the war in the availability of food, gasoline, etc. They havne’t been subjected to bombings like the Londoners have, but the town is on high alert. Especially since the Redfern family home and adjoining farmland have been confiscated by the War Office. The Americans have come to help the British win the war and the farmland has been converted into an airstrip.

As Little Buffenden’s  Air Raid Warden, Poppy and her little dog, Bess, have the night shift. As Poppy and Bess, joined by Sid, who was 4F, make their rounds reminding their neighbors about the proper utilization of blackout curtains.

The village is split 50-50 on how they feel about the arrival of the Americans. The young women are excited to see young men their age, as all the eligible men in Little Buffenden are fighting at the front. The shopkeepers, especially the pub owners, are glad to have the men spending their money.

Then, Doreen turns up dead, found in the middle of the night in the churchyard. Speculation runs high that one of the Americans is to blame. A few weeks later, Ivy Wantage is also killed.  The villagers are on edge, and they begin to fight amongst themselves over speculation of who is too blame. Surely, not one of them as the murders only after the Americans arrived.

Poppy begins her own investigation , learning the secrets the villagers want to stay hidden---like the unliked Audrey who is also attacked, and the villager who has found a way to sneak onto the airbase.

There is an enormous cast lis. Almost too many to keep track of…who is a suspect and who can be discounted is a chore. But still I enjoyed this Book 1 in a new series (A Woman of WWII Mystery).  “Poppy Redfern and the Midnight Murders”  receives 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.