The Blackout Murders: A Homefront Sleuths Mystery

Homefront Sleuths #1

by Anna Elliott, Charles Veley

Five friends, one sleepy village, and a mystery brimming with dark secrets.

England, 1941. The tranquil village of Crofter’s Green seems like a haven from the chaos of wartime. But when a local air raid warden is found dead in the village churchyard, five villagers--some getting on in years and none of them policemen--decide they need to uncover the truth.

Introducing the Homefront

Evie Harris, a newly arrived tea shop owner, seeking a fresh start after losing her husband.Alice Greenleaf, the village herbalist, who has her own quiet strength and wisdom.Blake Collins, a war-wounded schoolteacher, struggling with the scars of battle.Harry Jenkins, a sharp-eyed retired detective from London, who thought his sleuthing days were over.Dotty Baker, a resourceful young mother, juggling the demands of wartime life.
Together, they will form a close-knit circle, a found family in a world turned upside down. As they dig into the village’s secrets, they uncover more than just the identity of a killer—they discover the power of friendship and community in the face of adversity. But can they solve the mystery before the shadows of war claim another victim, and will Evie discover her inner culinary capabilities?

The Blackout Murders is a heartwarming, suspenseful tale perfect for fans of cozy mysteries and wartime intrigue. This first installment of the *Homefront Sleuths* Series offers a rich tapestry of characters, historical detail, and the enduring strength of human connection. If you enjoy The Marlow Murder Club or cozy mysteries by Rhys Bowen, T.E. Kinsey, Jacqueline Winspear, or Susan Elia MacNeal we're sure you'll enjoy this series.

Scroll up, grab your copy, and join the Homefront Sleuths as they embark on their first case!

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

403 pages, Paperback

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 · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 ♥

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 🌇😕

[PurplePrimula · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Julie Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

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!

[Wee Lassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Ashlee · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

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

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Lauren Lara · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 · Rating 1 out of 5]

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 · Rating 1 out of 5]

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

[Lydia Cherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really good mystery.

[Amy Ingalls · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Beccy · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Nobooga · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 · Rating 4 out of 5]

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).

[cece · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love cozy mysteries! I enjoyed this WWII-era whodunit. The first 30% was a bit boring, but I'm happy I finished it. The historical setting added a unique layer of intrigue. The characters felt authentic and relatable, like neighbors you might actually have. I’ve already added the rest of the series to my TBR. :>>

[Lianne (Old Lady Podcast) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Um... this was the single most vanilla murder mystery I've ever read.

I listened to this in two days, so I did enjoy it on one level. But when I was 80% through the book and wondering when the big mystery was going to happen, I was really questioning my judgment. Spoiler alert: there was no big mystery.

Yes, this is book one in a series, but I'm not sure I'm interested enough to continue.

[Jaymee Dobell · Rating 1 out of 5]

This comes across as an English novel being written by an American, who keeps forgetting they are writing an English novel. Far too many americanisms (is that a word?) that it really spoilt the whole thing. I can not tell you how many times I read and reread the first 10/15 chapters thinking it would help me make sense but I just had to give up in the end.

[Danelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cozy little mystery

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It took a while to remember who all the characters were when switching POVs but fortunately while reading you quickly pick up who is who.

[Nicci · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75... I liked aspects of this, such as the characters and backstories, but the plot/ mystery moved too slowly and didn't fully keep my attention throughout. I haven't decided if I will give book #2 a chance.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a little while to get the cast of characters straight, and there were some noticeable (to me) editorial errors, but I thoroughly enjoyed this WWII-era mystery. I'll definitely be reading more in this series.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not great literature but a pleasant, relaxing historical mystery that deserves its “cozy” description. Rather like a good cup of chamomile tea. I enjoyed it and finished reading it in one sitting. I’m not sure the WW2 setting is accurate, but it was fun.

[Lindsey Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite enjoyed this nice simple listen, will continue with the series ☺️

[The Library Lady · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not great literature, but entertaining.