The Spectre of Hawthorne Manor: The Homefront Sleuths Cozy Mystery Series, Book 2

Homefront Sleuths #2

by Anna Elliott, Charles Veley, Iona Campbell (Narrator)

Ghostly whispers, shocking secrets, and a Pomeranian on the loose …

England, 1941: Evie Harris doesn’t believe in ghosts—not even when she spots a glowing figure outside her bedroom window in the quiet village of Crofter’s Green. But when the same eerie spectre is seen by Lord Hawthorne, tied to a long-buried family scandal, even Evie starts to wonder if the past is haunting Hawthorne Manor.

Before she can investigate, Lord Hawthorne is found dead at the bottom of his grand staircase. An accident? Not likely. When the glowing figure begins tormenting Lady Gwendolyn, Evie rallies the Homefront Sleuths to unravel the manor’s secrets.

As the sleuths dig deeper, the twists keep

A furious daughter returns for the reading of the will. Priceless antiques vanish from the estate. And Lady Gwendolyn’s strange behavior hints at dangers far beyond ghostly hauntings. With hidden passageways, family feuds, and wartime schemes at every turn, the sleuths must race to uncover the truth. Is the danger truly from the dead—or the living?

The Spectre of Hawthorne Manor is a delightfully cozy mystery full of ghostly intrigue, village charm, and sly surprises. Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and T.E. Kinsey — scroll up and One-click now!

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

Audible Audio

Published March 7, 2025

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

[Lydia Cherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

agatha christie with WW2 vibes 🤌🏼

can’t help but hope for a romance to spark between a couple of the characters in the next book

[Chautona Havig · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one did not disappoint, either! I am so excited (and just a tiny bit disappointed that I have to wait for the next one). Okay, that's a lie. I'm totally gutted. Gimme more! Yesterday isn't soon enough, but tomorrow will suffice. PLEASE!

Again, characterization is phenomenal, and there are so many layers. We don't just have "Guy shows up dead" and now "find who killed him." We get something going on here... something else there... what's happening now? WHATTTTT????

Brilliant in ways that I can't explain. Yes, I figured out a lot of things, but there were a couple I didn't. And one thing I hoped for but was sure wouldn't be... WAS! EEEP!

Okay, so technically book three IS out... but... not the audio, and I listened to the audio and LOVED it.

[The Library Lady · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with book one, not deep, but entertaining. Lots of obvious plot twists/foreshadowing for future volumes.

[Ashlee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book! More character development. I love that the author is creating a book lover in one of the characters. Lots of new information and I’m enjoying the back stories.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining mystery listening 🐕😏

This kindle ebook novel is from my Kindle Unlimited account book two of four

There are two murders at the Hawthorne manor. And the team is investigating several possible leads from local to London. It all ends happily.

I would recommend this series and authors to readers of romantic family and friends relationships adventure mystery novels 🤗😉 2025 🙄😚

[Chantelle Marshall · Rating 3 out of 5]

3🌟 (Audible Plus Catalog). Characters are starting become my friends. Solid storyline + nice continuation from the 1st book.

[Rinske · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook

[Issy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Clare Crawshaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great read in this series, I love the characters, the time that the books are set in, it’s a bit like famous five but adults. Already on to book 3

[Karla Sentíes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was better than the first one. Not very deep, but entertaining, just the kind of thing that I need at the moment, so it was a good read.

[Susan Gould · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy listening!!

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s probably a 3 realistically but I’ve been sucked into the world these are based in so love it even though the mystery isn’t that amazing

[Roo · Rating 4 out of 5]

these books are really good, a dollop of crime, a dash of wartime home front shenanigans, and a sprinkle of romance. All topped of with an is it isn't it going to be...

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

1941. Several ghostly figures are seen in the village of Crofter's Green, one by Lord Hawthorne. Evie Harris is asked to investigate but then a death occurs. But can the secrets of the past remain hidden. What will Evie and her friends expose.
A well-written and entertaining historical mystery with its cast of likeable and interesting characters. A good second book to this series.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the author. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Bill Cross · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Spectre of Hawthorne Manor is the latest mystery from the father-daughter writing team of Charles Veley and Anna Elliott. They are both excellent mystery writers as well as quite prolific. Their first series, Sherlock Holmes and Lucy James is now up to 34 stories. The spinoff from that series, the Becky and Flynn Mysteries has five installments. This newest novel is the second in a series they’re calling Homefront Sleuths. I ordered the first in the series and before I could read it, they sent me this second installment and asked that I review it. The third installment is already completed and will be available in a matter of weeks.

This is one of their longer novels, clocking in at over 300 pages. As you can probably guess from the title, the action involves one of those stately British country estates. There also is the hint of the supernatural as three of the main characters are all receiving visitors who appear to come from beyond the grave.

While the authors’ Sherlock and Lucy series is patterned after the style of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, this new series owes more to Dame Agatha Christie and the sub-genre of mystery known as the “cozy.” Cozies are set in small towns, although why anyone would want to live in one is beyond me. The murder rate per capita far exceeds that of any of Britain’s larger cities. The village here is Crowther’s Green with the action shifting from that small town to London and back again.

What sets this series apart is that it doesn’t have just one brilliant detective on the case. This mystery involves “sleuthing by committee,” as no less than seven people work together to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. These include Evie Harris, owner of a local tea shop who has a secret of her own (which is not completely revealed in this installment), retired London police inspector Harry Jenkins, his nephew and small town copper Nigel Brewster, Evie’s employee Dorothy Baker, amateur botanist Alice Greenleaf (her name may be a little too on the nose), the also mysterious Diana Lovecraft, and a young man good with codes named Blake who appears to be somewhere on the autism spectrum, but in the days when that was not understood.

As there is an impressively large cast of characters including the usual long list of suspects, it takes a bit to introduce them all and set the stage. The first dead body doesn’t turn up until a third of the way into the action. It isn’t the last.

The mystery is a good one. The plot involves a mad woman in an insane asylum, smugglers looting a British mansion, a German bombing raid over London, a séance, a mystery woman, and much more. Yet the authors never let the plot get bogged down or too convoluted. Each chapter focuses on one of the major characters and is told from his or her point of view. This also allows the action to unfold in multiple locales simultaneously and keeps the action coming at a fast pace.

As in good mysteries, all of the various major plot threads are eventually tied together and we get one of those classic gatherings of all the suspects in a single room as the killer is unmasked.

If I were to fault the book for anything, it’s that they have so many characters on the sleuthing committee that we don’t really get to know most of them. Also, the key clue to determining whodunnit is known to the Homefront Sleuths but kept from the reader until the big reveal near the end. I prefer to have all of the clues laid out with nothing held back as trying to solve the mystery myself is one of the things I like best about the genre.

However, these are just minor quibbles. The read is engaging, the plot twists are clever, and I definitely enjoyed the book immensely. While The Spectre of Hawthorne Manor: A Homefront Sleuths Cozy Mystery does tie up all its major plot threads, it concludes with a wee bit of a cliffhanger for one of the Homefront Sleuths that propels them into the next story. I will definitely be along for the ride!

[Toni · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought after listening to book one that I had made my peace with all the POV‘s and I could listen to book 2, and then I started listening to book 2, and realized that was not the case.
I skipped half this book right over both murders and even with doing that, I felt like I missed nothing. I picked it back up when they were resting again all black marketers and write about to do the séance.

This book is way too long winded and no offense, but I don’t know why I have Dottie‘s point of view yes, I realized we needed her point of view when it came to her meeting violet, but I think it was kind of stupid that she meets her, knows about Blake’s history, but doesn’t put two and two together and that she meets Violet and doesn’t mention any of this to the others who could also put two and two together. Then again, I wouldn’t know if she did mention it or if she did come to the conclusion because I skipped so many chapters. It was just boring. I didn’t need to be repeatedly reminded about all the hardship …yet the lady of the manner wants catering for 150 people….when they are on rations? 😂

I love Harry’s point of view, and I almost wish that the author stuck with just his it would make this book run so much smoother and be so much more enjoyable, everyone else’s pov just muddies the water, except for Alice. The little side story about Evie being a spy, where apparently the German army are going to seek her out, ugh, give me a break.

I found book one way more interesting and I found myself listening to that entire book even though I also found that book long winded, but this one just got caught up in the tiny minute details of nothingness just to tell a story that had nothing to do with the actual story. To sum it up: (stop here if you don’t want spoilers)









A wealthy woman has a husband, his friend, a wealthy man, wishes to have the woman as his wife, so he decides to kill the first husband. It looks like they have a daughter and then there’s this random girl that’s in a mental institution and the new husband is paying for her to stay in this institution. It turns out this girl saw the new husband putting the poison in the flask of the old husband and then planting the poisoned vile in the husband’s luggage. He then sends the girl away, so she can’t spill the beans. Meanwhile, the wife is already pregnant with the old husband‘s child, but they decide to say nothing and raise the daughter like she’s the new husband‘s child. The daughter finds the diary of the girl that was sent away. She gets upset, goes away herself after realizing she’s been written out of the will.
The daughter marries, and her and her husband devise a plan to pretend to be the old husband‘s ghost, in order to scare the new husband and they eventually kill him.

All of the above is revealed at the end, we see none of it.

The plan is to also kill the mother that way the daughter can inherit everything. They also need to kill the girl that’s in the mental institution because they can’t have her blabbing the secret.

We come in when they start their scare tactics….and eventually two people are killed.
That’s the entire story. Nine hours long just to tell that story is ridiculous. Everything else is filler.

[Madelon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've never been fond of books about WWII, but this series is definitely changing my mind. I think I was put off by the hours my husband spent watching black and white films of the war on television. Anna Elliott and Charles Veley have changed my outlook with flesh and blood characters experiencing war on the home front. Although they are getting a first-hand look at war as German planes fly over their peaceful village, they manage to have a semblance of normalcy, tending to their shops and enjoying tea at the Cozy Cup.

Dorothy Baker plays a prominent role in The Spectre of Hawthorne Manor. She receives a dreaded telegram that her husband Tom has been seriously wounded and is now in a London hospital. She rushes to London only to find Tom deathly ill with a high fever and in a comatose state. During her vigil, she meets the enigmatic Viola, a victim of the Blitz who has totally lost her memory. She doesn't even know her true name. The friendship that grows between Dorothy and Viola leads me to believe that Viola will become a permanent character in the series.

Meanwhile, back in Crofter's Corners, the other sleuths are dealing with a potentially supernatural death at the local manor house. Lord Hawthorne is found dead at the bottom of a staircase, and Lady Gwendolyn is hearing ghostly noises in the night. Family scandals are revealed as the relatives gather for the reading of Lord Hawthorne's will.

In The Spectre of Hawthorne Manor, we become privy to more personal details about some of the sleuths, along with the seemingly vacuous Diana Lovecraft, whose Pomeranian, Bonzo, does more than just bark.

The Homefront Sleuths Cozy Mystery Series is as cozy as a cup of tea on a stormy day, and it's a series I will look forward to reading for the foreseeable future.

[Louisa with an A · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

There’s a trap that book series can fall into that is well known to readers; and that’s when second books become a filler book in order to get from book one to book three and beyond. I don’t feel like this series fell into that trap but more that book one was the stepping stone.

This book opened up more of the conspiracy that I can see will be the overarching mystery for the series as a whole and I enjoyed that. Though it does beg the question, why is this little village such a hive of gang activity? Knowing the characters a bit more helped me enjoy this book and not get as lost with the sheer amount of them, though there were moments when I had to relisten to a part because I wasn’t exactly sure which character was speaking or whose chapter we were following.

The blurb once again sold the book as having more substance and intrigue – it mentions secret passageways. I don’t recall a secret passageway being a huge plot point. There were family feuds but it was done off page or spoken about in past tense, none of it happened in real time.
I think that’s the bigger issue with this series – there’s lots of off page action and not enough time is given to flesh out or give the secondary characters and their story lines more than perfunctory baseline information.

Those points aside, it was an enjoyable book. I liked how there’s other plot points in for the main characters to overcome. I would like more of Blake though, he played an even smaller point in this book than the first and I think he could have one of the more interesting storylines.

Because all the books are so easy to consume and are currently free on Audible, I’m going to continue with this series and I’m basically going to binge all the books. I hope with the overarching series there will be some sort of explanation as to why Crofters Green has been targeted.

[Meg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the first as the mystery seemed to be a continuation from the first book in the series. Evie and her friends from the village are back as they investigate the death of Lord Hawthorne. He had confided to Evie that he'd been seeing ghosts recently and thought that he was being haunted by his wife's first fiancé who killed himself before she married Lord Hawthorne. Evie has seen the glowing figure in the dark too and does not believe that it is a ghost. Dorothy is distracted by her husband, Tom, who is recovering in London after losing his leg in the war. While there, she receives a message from a woman asking her to warn Lady Hawthorne that there are evil doings in her house and someone might be killed. It is all linked to the smuggling ring from the previous book. Apparently they are not just selling black market good but also stealing and selling items from estates, including Hawthorne manor. It seems that the whole staff was in on it and Albert, the gardener, is found dead. The rest of the staff are scheduled to be knocked off too to protect the identity of the smugglers but Harry and his nephew, Nigel, save them and catch the smugglers. Lord Hawthorne's death had its roots closer to home. His estranged daughter, Peggy, learned several years ago that she was a bastard since Lady Hawthorne was pregnant by her former fiancé before his death. So she and her husband, Charlie, cooked up a plan to kill off both Lord and Lady Hawthorne in revenge so that she could inherit the estate. Not the most compelling mystery but the characters are enjoyable to spend time with.

[Jo Lynn Bruno-Diehl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book in a series set in a small English village during WWII. I enjoyed the first book very much and I liked this one almost as well.
Spirits seem to be invading Crofter's Green. Evie has seen one as has Lord Hawthorn, but are they real or an evil trick? When Lord Hawthorn is found at the bottom of a staircase in what looks like an accident, the Homefront Sleuths jump into action.
There are a lot of things going on and at times I found it a challenge to keep track of everything. There is the murder that reveals the slow stealing from the Lord's valuable collections, along with the ravings of a woman kept in an asylum paid for by that same Lord. The Black Market is also raising its ugly head in the quiet little village, and in a good news/bad news situation Dorothy's husband has returned from the war badly injured.
In this second adventure the main characters are given more depth. Evie is successfully re-opening the tea shop while giving us more clues into her previous life. Harry is coming out of retirement more actively, leading a Black Market scheme bust. Dorothy is showing her strength in helping with traps while also helping her husband recover. Alice, Blake and Nigel all are giving us more insight into their lives as well.
In spite of everything going on, the mysteries were clever, but I did guess correctly at the perpetrators' identities. So, I will be reading the next installment in coming weeks. It is a good series and a GoodRead.

[Milly Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this second Homefront's Mystery series from Audible and found it just a cosy and enjoyable as the first, discovering on the way that the authors - Anna Elliott and Charles Veley are a father/daughter team. This time retired police officer, Harry Jenkins and tea shop owner, Evie Harris investigate a mystery at the local stately home - Hawthorne Manor. Evie herself has a secret which is hinted at but not revealed. They are joined in their little detecting group by Alice Greenleaf, a herbalist, Dorothy Baker, the mother of Tommy whose husband is at war and Blake, a teacher who was injured in the war - all characters we met in the first book. This time the mystery is supernatural - Lord Hawthorne is seeing ghosts and receiving messages. And he is not the only one as Evie herself saw ‘something’ in her garden and an asylum inmate - Sally Rowe - has also said that she has seen a figure. Add to this black market gangs, and a murder and we have a lovely little mystery to solve. Each chapter is told from the POV of one of the characters and this allows the reader to be in different places and move the action on. All is resolved at the end with a nice tying up of ends but we are left with a little bit of a cliff-hanger for one of our character. So, I'll be picling up Book 3 at some point.

[Jill E. · Rating 4 out of 5]

another really good read

These authors, do a great job in spinning a marvelous tale set in World War II England. The usual characters return in this story, though I felt as if we did not see much of Evie or Blake. Blake is a slightly minor character, but I have a feeling after reading this book that his importance will be elevated in a book to follow. I missed “seeing” Evie as much as usual because the last book was so much about her. This book centers more on Harry, but includes all of the members of the “homefront sleuths” from the previous book in the series.

The writing is good and the pace is excellent. It is easy to follow the storyline from one character to the other, perhaps most especially because there aren’t too many characters: each one has a special gift and a distinct personality. The dialogue is good; the mysteries are clever. And the authors never fail to provide resolution to the plot.

This is easy and comfortable reading. There are clever twists and turns. And every once in a while, a little clue is set aside to get the reader to thinking about where the end of the thread will lead him or her.

Enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the next one.

[Jane Schwarz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crofter's Green, England during WWII, Evie Harris has finally opened the Cozy Cup Tea Room. She was also called to Hawthorne Manor by Lady Hawthorne to possibly provide some food for the party that she was preparing for. Evie had heard that Lord Hawthorne was acting strangely and said that he was being haunted. At the same time a former maid, now at Greenview Sanitarium, feels she is being watched. Retired Harry Jenkins and his nephew Inspector Brewster, go to investigate at Greenview and come away puzzled. But when Lord Hawthorne dies, possibly murdered, Evie is once again asked to help. She, along with her group of friends in the village, get together to try and piece together what is really going on and could it be that the gangs have come back.
Another enjoyable cozy mystery, the second in the series, that continues to follow the residents of the small village and how they all cope with the war, shortages and the mysteries that befall them.
Thank you Wilton Press for the opportunity to read this e-galley of "The Spectre of Hawthorne Manor".

[Nancy Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Calming

Now maybe you don’t think ‘calming’ is a positive rating for a book. I can assure you that after reading the headlines (USA 2025- need I say more?) for some time each day, this series is an antidote to high anxiety, dumbfoundedness, disgust and anger. It wouldn’t be such a balm if it were poorly written. Indeed, the warmth of the main characters and a reminder of how honorable people who care about their country behave is soothing. I’m now invested in their lives and almost envy their village lives. Rationing and bombshell and war uncertainty aside. The historical research is significant. Authenticity lends itself to make better storylines and the authors have done their work. While I normally prefer much longer books, I recognize the enjoyment of small doses of a plot at a time. After all, I’m retired and would easily read comfortably for hours and hours. - just to the end of this book, and then I’ll do my laundry!
Anna and Charles, please keep writing and I’ll keep reading. I wish many years ahead for us both.

[Isi · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.8⭐️
I’m absolutely loving this series. The Spectre of Hawthorne Manor feels like a cozy murder mystery, the kind of book that makes you want to curl up in bed with a cup of tea. It’s refreshing to read something where not all the characters are in their twenties. There’s such a nice range of ages and perspectives, from younger adults to characters in their 60s, and it adds so much warmth and depth to the story.

I’m really starting to fall in love with the cast. I love that each book has its own mystery, but there are also ongoing threads that build across the series. I’m especially curious about Evie and the girl who lost her memory (I’m so rooting for her and the math teacher!). Speaking of him, he’s definitely autistic. I want Evie and Nigel to end up together.

The setting, the slow unraveling of secrets, the wartime backdrop, all of it just works so well together. I honestly can’t wait to see who ends up dead in the next book.

[Dan Rees · Rating 5 out of 5]

We were introduced to the Homefront Sleuths in the book The Blackout Murders. Unlike the earlier series by Charles Veley and his daughter Anna Elliott, set in Victorian times and the Great War (World War I), these books are firmly placed in a backdrop of World War II, the Blitz, and wartime profiteering and other opportunistic gang activity. The first book, The Blackout Murders, wrapped up one set of gang activity, but it becomes apparent in this book that there is more to be dealt with. The mystery that relates to all of this is a series of apparent ghost appearances, with the various connections brought together by the "homefront sleuths". This motif of a group of people with disparate skills, backgrounds, and interests is becoming more common now in cozy mysteries, and could eventually become a bit of a cliche, but it is well-handled in this set of books.
Note: I received an advance copy of this book through Book Funnel, and this is my voluntary and unbiased review.

[Rachel-Leigh LaBuschagne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the fact that the first book and the second book is connected. So for those of you who haven’t read the first book 1st, I suggest you go do so. I enjoyed the character development that was happening from the first book into the second book. You are learning more about these people who are part of this five person sleuthing group. Definitely going to be reading the third one. I somehow knew who the actual mastermind was behind the deaths, which I gave myself a pat on the back for. A lot of the time with these mystery novels, I never know who the murderer is. But I had a sneaky suspicion. I enjoyed the new location of a big Manor House, which makes sense in the day and age this book is set in. And again, I enjoyed the facts about the war at the very end of the book. All in all very enjoyable.

[Giannina Roy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a copy of "The Spectre of Hawthorne Manor" and did not want it to end. The follow-up to "The Blackout Murder " is exciting and has many suspects as to who the spectre is and what is it after. Lord Hawthorne seeing a spectre and is not looking well. Fortunely Evie has also seen what she believes is a ghost. When Lord Hawthorne talks to her about what he is seeing she knows she has to investigate. With the war still raging there are a few different mysteries to be investigated. The story is very intriguing and progressses seamlessly.

Awonderful story with our favourite characters. Harry, Nigel, Alice, Evie and Dorothy solving the various mysteries that are all intertwined. I can not wait for the follow-up to see what happens next.

[Adena Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, this was a great read! The authors got the atmosphere of the village just right - reading this called to mind the Miss Seeton novels and English village life. The historical background (as set in WWII) calls to mind Jill Paton Walsh's " A Presumption of Death" and Manning Coles' Tommy Hambleton series. The people involved in this mystery definitely called to mind the Standard Bearers of Shereem Vedam's Outside the Circle Mysteries series (without the paranormal elements). Altogether, this was a wonderfully involved and involving cozy mystery. I need to put this series on my to-be-read list!

I received an ARC from the author and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Kav · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Homefront Sleuths are back with an intriguing new case. Love the way they work in tandem with the police and the diverse talents this eclectic mix of amateurs bring to the investigation. And I enjoyed the multiple points of view as well which lets us get to really know each character. Definitely a series that should be read in order due to character development and...certain situations. Especially pertaining to Evie who has a very interesting back story that seems to have caught up with her by the end of this book. Not quite a cliffhanger (the mystery is satisfactorily resolved) but Evie is about to confront her past it seems and I can't wait to read book three asap!