Codename: Top Secret January

by Casia Pickering

During a playful game of hide and seek, one orphan finds an unknown person's remains inside a tree.

War veteran turned reporter, Arthur Ashcroft is assigned to the story, and it could make his career. With his photographer, Penny Compton, the two travel to the small village of Thornhurst. There, they investigate the human remains found inside a wych elm.

What begins as a true crime report brings out a secret the government would rather keep hidden. A valuable secret that everyone wants.

Will Arthur and Penny find the truth or is the woman in the wych elm forever lost?

106 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 1, 2023

About the author

Even though she claims she can write anything, the biography remains to be Casia’s arch-nemesis. Despite this, Casia has used her Writing degree to craft stories in over ten anthologies, maintained a book blog for more than a decade, and has begun to write novels. A multi-genre author, Casia Pickering, is incapable of keeping to one thing. Every story has a piece of her personality that she treasures and shares with her readers. She currently lives in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia with her biggest supporter and helper, her son, affectionately known as Bug. Previous works are under the name, Casia Courtier.

Reviews

[Caitlin Gonya · Rating 4 out of 5]

A game of hide and seek leads to the discovery of skeletal remains in a tree. WW2 veteran turned reporter Arthur Ashcroft and photographer Penny Compton arrive to town with the intentions of writing up an intriguing murder mystery story. However, it becomes apparent that something is off, and the secrets might be more dangerous than either was expecting.

I have read one of Casia Pickering’s novels prior to this one. Please be warned there might be spoilers ahead.

There are many things about WW2 and what Adolf Hitler was searching for. I loved the use of the psychics in this story. However, I wish there was more of an in-depth description. Maybe some examples of how they were used.

I found Arthur and Penny both engaging and interesting. I found myself thinking of Agatha Christie’s Tommy and Tuppence characters as I continued reading. I would like to have more background on the both of them, maybe even some more stories with flashbacks from the war.

Overall I rate this novel 4 out of 5 stars.

https://caitlinmariegonya.blogspot.co...

[Shelby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the author’s style of writing. I enjoyed the mystery of the story. The characters were very likable. Mystery is my favorite genre and this was a good one. I liked the mixture of mystery with journalism. I hope to read more books by this author in the future!