Julia Kelly (The Last Garden in England) turns her hand to mystery in her twisty, engaging sixth historical novel, A Traitor in Whitehall, which takes readers into the heart of London's cabinet war rooms during World War II. Evelyne Redfern isn't thrilled with her job at a munitions factory, though she's proud to be doing her bit. But a mysterious interview with an old friend of her father's leads to a job at the cabinet war rooms, where she becomes part of the typing pool and also (secretly) keeps her eyes peeled for information. Days later, one of her fellow typists is murdered, and Evie finds the body. Determined to catch the killer, she teams up with David Poole, an aide with a secret assignment of his own: to find both the murderer and a mole who may be leaking vital information to the Germans.
Kelly's narrative zips along, taking Evie from the cabinet war rooms to various parts of London (even dodging Nazi bombs, when necessary) and back to the boardinghouse where she shares a room with her friend Moira and stacks of mystery novels. Kelly layers her story with plenty of historical details, including the fashions of the day and the complicated structure (physical and political) of the cabinet war rooms. Evie is a smart, compassionate sleuth with a deep interest in her fellow workers, and her prickly dynamic with David eventually grows into mutual respect. Evie's first adventure is a well-plotted start to an entertaining new series. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams