A Deadly Mistake

by Keith Finney

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

A Deadly Mistake is the third Lipton St. Faith historical cozy mystery by Keith Finney. Released 20th Jan 2022 by Lume Books, it's 306 pages and is available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book (and the other extant book in the series) are currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free.

This is a light WW2 cozy historical adventure set in Norfolk. The main protagonists, the local vicar's daughter and a US volunteer pilot "doing his bit" before the USA officially entered the war, are a fun light amateur duo investigating crimes. This installment starts with the death of an unidentified man in a car crash and soon encompasses espionage and the official secrets act. The author has taken some pains with historical and geographic research. He does quite a good job of evoking the time period through quaint dialogue and background descriptions (flyovers, ration coupons, the Women's Land Army, child evacuees, etc). There is one stylistic element which often dragged me out of the story where the main protagonist Anna has a nearly continuous monologue in the text in italics. She has something to say or think a couple times per page and I found it both distracting and annoying and never got used to the literary device.

The narrative is well written but slow-paced and readers used to hastier writing might find their attention wandering. All in all, I found it charmingly nostalgic if possibly a bit unrealistically saccharine. The spelling and vernacular are true to the area and location. The author has included a handy short glossary of terms for readers who might be unfamiliar with the vernacular.

Three and a half stars. Worth a look for fans of the time period. It's squeaky clean and there's nothing in the writing or language which would startle anyone's maiden aunt. There are now three book extant in the series. For fans of WW2 village cozies, it could be a good choice for a weekend binge read.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review.