The Blackout Murders

Homefront Sleuths #1

by Anna Elliott, Charles Veley

Five unlikely friends. One quaint village. A killer hiding among them.

It’s 1941, and the village of Crofter’s Green has grown quiet since the Cozy Cup tea shop closed its doors. But when Evie Harris—granddaughter of the shop’s late owner—returns to the village, gossip swirls about her exploits as a London air raid warden. Could she reopen the Cozy Cup? Or is she back for good?

Before anyone can find out, the local air raid warden turns up dead, and the village is left reeling. With the police preoccupied by the war, Evie and four eccentric neighbors form an unlikely team to solve the

Alice A sharp-tongued herbalist who sees everything.
Blake A schoolteacher whose wit is as sharp as his mind.
Harry A retired detective called back into the game.
Dotty Baker: A nosy mum with instincts sharper than her sewing needles.

Together, they uncover secrets that could shatter their little village—and reveal a killer hiding in plain sight.

Genres: Mystery, Audiobook, Historical Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Historical, Cozy

299 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 28, 2024

About the author

Anna Elliott is an author of historical fiction and fantasy. She enjoys stories about strong women, and loves exploring the multitude of ways women can find their unique strengths. She was delighted to lend a hand with the Sherlock & Lucy series, and thrilled to continue a new spin-off series featuring Becky and Flynn. Her first series, the Twilight of Avalon trilogy, is a retelling of the Trystan & Isolde legend. She wrote her second series, The Pride & Prejudice Chronicles , chiefly to satisfy her own curiosity about what might have happened to Elizabeth Bennet, Mr. Darcy, and all the other wonderful cast of characters after the official end of Jane Austen’s classic work.

WEBSITE: http://sherlockandlucy.com
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/sherlockand...
FACEBOOK READER GROUP: https://www.facebook.com/groups/77782...
AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Anna-El...

Anna lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and five children.

Reviews

[Claudia]

What can I say? This is the perfect example of a cosy: a small village during wartime, interesting and well-crafted characters and a compelling mystery.

I particularly loved the characters, and the fact they are mostly mixed in age and with widely different capabilities makes the storyline more appealing. They are wounded people, some of them grieving, some thinking their best days are over but all of them find more than they were expecting while trying to find the culprit.

I wholly recommend this new series, is not only a wonderful mystery, it also will leave you with a smile on your face ♥

[PurplePrimula]

I don't get my new batch of Audible credits until the end of the month. Too long to have nothing, not long enough to buy extras. Therefore, I'm dipping into the Audible Plus catalogue for some freebies.

Had I known that this would be another installment in the subgenre that seems to be trending at the moment of 'American woman moves to small English village and opens a tea room/bakery/restaurant/antique shop/hardware store/bank/what-have-you', I likely wouldn't have bothered.

Had I had credits available for the audiobooks that I'm actually wanting to listen to ad the moment, I wouldn't have got very far in this one either. I probably wouldn't have made it much further than the bit where someone in his mid-fifties is described as an old man. Or the first stilted conversation of exposition. The people in this village seem unable to tell each other anything without giving a bunch of unnecessary details. Take this non-spoilery example from near the beginning of the book: Character A is trying to secure a tarp on a leaky roof, Character B shows up, Character A not only explains what she's doing but also where she got the tarp and why she was in that shop that morning in the first place. Character A and Character B have never met before.

I'm sorry to say, I just didn't find it all that well written, and the inappropriate Americanisms scattered throughout didn't help.

[William]

Entertaining mystery listening 🎶🔰

This kindle e-book novel is from my Kindle Unlimited account book one of four

She has moved to the village where her relative had a shop. She gets involved in the investigation of a murder then another and an attempted suicide. She and friends become helpers to the police leading to the conclusion.

I would recommend this series and author to 👍 readers of romantic family and friends relationships adventure British mystery novels 👍🔰 2025 🌇😕

[Julie Jordan]

I love the Sherlock and Lucy series, so I was excited to receive an offer to obtain an Advanced Reader Copy of this new book. It did not disappoint and is just as well written as the other books I’ve read by these authors. The characters are well developed, the novel is descriptive in such a way that you can depict what’s happening without getting bogged down in the details, and subtle clues are given throughout. I look forward to the next book in the series!

[C.A. Simonsen]

3.5 stars

The Blackout Murders is definitely a cozy mystery. This one is set in WWII-era England, as a woman named Evie returns to a village to consider reopening her grandmother's tea shop. In the midst of war fear and nightly blackout procedures, a murder is committed in the tiny community.

The book is well written, but the characters and plot are not overly interesting or memorable. The twists are few. There is a serving of tea and crumpets, though.

[Ashlee]

I enjoyed this cozy mystery. This is clearly going to be a series and has a lot of foundation to lay. But I enjoyed it and am looking for more stories.

[Wee Lassie]

For a Murder Mystery set in world war 2 this book has a surprisingly chill atmosphere … which was really what I needed right now so five out of five.

[Alice]

3.5 very cosy detective story, some nice characters and a nice setting but the story was a bit basic

[Jan]

This was a very satisfying British cozy mystery. I was a little worried going in with the chapters hopping from character to character, but the authors pulled it off and it felt very cohesive.

[Kathy]

I had only tried one book by this author two years ago, so I gave her writing another sampling. I felt the descriptions of life in the UK during WWII were well written and the characters peopling this tale were believable and genuine.

Kindle Unlimited

[BearMi]

LIKED: the 2nd world war vibes, the amateur sleuthing - found family feels, the tea & cake shop (what luxury, amidst rationing and famine in large parts of Europe)

DIDN'T LIKE: the resolution, the murder mystery itself, the tar-like pace, the character depth (seen better), the fact that this seems a CTRL-V of Osman's series...

free to listen on Audible though.
might give the second one a go.

[Toni]

First in WW2 cozy mystery series. A Very enjoyable read...lots of twists and turns and did not see the ending coming. Later, as Im.on to book 2.

[Aimee Nicole Walker]

Books like this with multiple PoVs are really hard to get right, and I think this writing duo did a fabulous job. The audiobook narrator also did an impressive job voicing all the characters, giving them all unique nuances. I absolutely love British cozy mysteries, and historical ones are becoming my favorite. We have a resolution to the mystery, but there are aspects that will spill into future books to make a compelling overarching storyline. And maybe I’m hoping for a romance between a wily widow and a certain stoic police officer. I’m truly looking forward to more from this charming series.

[Lauren Lara]

Historical winter fiction murder mystery! Multiple POVs. War, famine, politics & survival all with a case to solve. It was a fun read. Nearly the whole series is free in Audible Plus Catalog!

[Sebastian D’Enno]

Hopeless. Written by Americans who have no idea of Britain or police procedures. The use of Americanisms was particularly tiresome. I did wonder if it was a product of AI but it’s too poor for that. Additionally the narration is slow with the wrong pronunciation or mangling of everyday UK English words. DNF. It was free on audible plus.

[Katherine Alexander-Williams]

So poor. It felt like it was written as a homework project.

[Lydia Cherry]

loveee this cozy mystery. nothing too crazy or deep about i just really enjoyed the different characters and POVs.
Immediately started the second book.

[Danielle]

Classic murder mystery book of “who done it.” It was okay- not really my cup of tea. Probably won’t read the rest in the series.

[Julie]

Such a cozy cute story! With “cozy mysteries” I usually have a pretty good sense of who the big bad is. I was actually surprised with this one! I’m excited to keep reading this series.

[Cowcannon]

Listened to on Audible.

Very much like the modern “background television”, this is an audiobook you don’t have to pay attention to, as at every step of the way the characters will explain in detail what they are doing and why exactly. This means that the story cannot really go into depths it would like and the pacing is butchered.

Unfortunately the performance of Iona Campbell is lacking in emotion and emphasis. I presume this is a type of interpretation that I am just not yet used to. It felt out of place in this “cozy mystery”.

I did like the setting of second world war England and it was a comfortable, almost catatonizing listen.

[Wendy Patten]

This story was fun and interesting. I liked the characters. Was a good listen while driving across country. However, my husband tuned out and had trouble following it. It was one of those where I tried to figure out who / what / why and i didn't get it.

[Mary]

This was a really good mystery.

[Amy Ingalls]

I have had a really tough few months, and this cozy set in the British countryside was just what I needed. I liked all the characters, and loved that they were all different in age and life experiences. I think the village is a great setting for future cozy mysteries, and am moving on to book two in the series.

Also, for those that care, it passed the Bechdel Test in spades.

[Clare Crawshaw]

This was a great little read, the characters were totally believable for the time period. There are 4 more in this series and i’ll look forward to reading them all.

[Tanya]

Listened to this as an audio, the reader was very good. I loved the writing! The character development was excellent. Set during World War 2 in a small English village. The main character is American. The story is a nice mix of mystery, people making new friends and how people lived during the war.

[Beccy]

Another non-offensive cutesy wartime murder mystery, free on audible but pleasantly surprised! my audiobook niche must be the same as a granny but I have 0 complaints lol

[Meg]

A good start to a new series. Evie has recently moved to the village to clean out her grandmother's old house and tea shop after her death. Still reeling from the death of her husband, Evie is looking for a fresh start away from The Blitz in London. As she gets to know the residents, she is almost ticketed by the warden for not having blackout curtains. Is she suspect when he turns up dead later that night? Harry, a retired London cop, who is already helping his nephew with a possible black market smuggling gang, helps him investigate the murder, along with other village residents. Dorothy and her mother's friend, Alice, discover that the warden had a coded ledger hidden and they ask teacher and injured vet, Blake, to help them decipher it. Together, the five of them help with the investigation of the murder. Blake is able to tell then that the ledger is a log of black market goods and it proves that the warden was working with a rival gang to the one already supplying in the area. A couple more dead bodies later and they catch the gang leader but don't know who his accomplice is. It turns out to be the meek & mild teacher, Clara, who is really a ruthless murderer. We also learn that Evie isn't exactly who she portrays herself to be. She served in the French Resistance, which is where she met her husband, and is now working with the SOS, Britan's spy agency. I'm sure that will be a topic in the next book.

[Katy Cameron]

I have just been reading 2 books which deserve the description of 'Written by an American, set in America but renamed Britain', although this one is worse as it has a ridiculously imagined WW2 thrown in it as well.

Some of the absolute nonsense trotted out included children in helmets (they had gas masks, but not helmets), a copious supply of food during rationing, poor, working class people owning their cottages when they'd have been entirely owned by the local landowner, and therefore rented, and more. Oh, and everyone going to Oxford, WTH was that about?! Honestly, even a cursory watch of Foyle's War and Good Night Mr Tom would have filled the authors in on life on the home front.

There were also far too many points of view, and with the monotone of the narrator in the audiobook, it was hard to distinguish between them.

[Nobooga]

Listened to this on audiobook. Already listening to book 2. It’s a mystery/historical fiction with strong female characters. I’m really enjoying how the author is unfolding the back story of the main character. Definitely one I recommend.

[C.G.Koens]

The Perfect British Cozy Mystery

I think this was one of those, "If you enjoyed...then you might like..." recommendations on Amazon, and for once they were right! In all honesty, this is probably more like 3.5 stars, but I really like the premise, the characters show promise, and the language is clean. Think the Miss Read books (small English village) meets...Foyle's War. Nothing too grusome, plenty of tea and scones, a historical setting...all in all, a delightful surprise and one worth trying for yourself (if you enjoy cozy mysteries, British tea rooms, and unlikely civilian sleuths).