Murder on the Home Front

A WPC Billie Harkness Mystery #2

by Jessica Ellicott

Disrespect, disdain - and dead bodies! It's all in a day's work for WPC Billie Harkness, a pioneering female police officer protecting the home front in this gripping WWII British historical mystery.


"A fresh and different take on WWII stories with an appealing young heroine" New York Times bestselling author Rhys Bowen on Death in a Blackout

1940. It's been a month since rector's daughter Billie Harkness left her rural village to make a fresh start in the northern city of Hull. Now she has a new home and an exciting new job as one of only two female police constables in the whole city. But Hull still feels like a foreign country, and some people are less than impressed by the idea of a woman doing a 'man's job'.

Facing disrespect from her colleagues and suspicion from the public, Billie throws herself into her work. The tasks she's assigned might be menial, but she's determined to do her bit for the war effort. The chance to prove her worth comes during a search for a missing air raid shelter inspector, when Billie makes a shocking his dead body, in a shelter that's been stripped of all its valuables.

The officers summoned to investigate the scene believe it's an open and shut case, but Billie's not so sure. Asking questions means making enemies though - and little does she know that vile rumors about her are spreading, with the power to erase everything she's tried so hard to achieve . . .

Murder on the Home Front is the second stunning mystery in the new WPC Billie Harkness series. It's a great choice for readers of Jacqueline Winspear, Rhys Bowen and Susan Elia MacNeal.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Fiction, World War II, Historical, Audiobook

256 pages, Hardcover

Published May 2, 2023

About the author

Jessica Ellicott loves fountain pens, Mini Coopers, and throwing parties. She lives in northern New England where she obsessively knits wool socks and enthusiastically speaks Portuguese with a shocking disregard for the rules of grammar.

Reviews

[eyes.2c · Rating 5 out of 5]

Murder in Hull!

WPC Billie Harkness is once again drawn into a murder investigation along with Constable Peter Upton. Whilst they’re checking out a raided bomb shelter Billie discovers the body of a man strangled with some clothesline wire.
Their investigations will lead them a frustrating chase over a wide ranging area.
At the same time there’s been a spate of small items missing from Peter’s boarding house including his police badge. Peter’s kept quiet about that as he thought he’d been careless with it.
Back in Hull a teenage boy was recently run over by a truck and killed. A man is reported missing by his landlords. There’s been some chatter about fifth columnists and Billie feels concerned. Somethings not right, a little bit off.
As Billie and Peter follow up their investigations, dots that seem random and farfetched, start to intertwine.
Billie meanwhile is having her own problems with Constable Drummond. He’s been sexually harassing her. Sergeant Skeleton comes upon them locked in what seems like an embrace and comes to quite the wrong conclusion. Billie doesn’t know quite how to handle it and doesn’t want to tell her superiors. I must admit to feeling Billie’s shame, fright and anger.
Another well written and exciting addition to this series. With tension mounting, all the factors spill over, coming together with a satisfying conclusion, including Drummond.

A Severn House ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

WPC Billie Harkness left her father's home in a small village and has become one of two women in the Hull constabulary. She is staying with her cousin Lydia who has been working for some time. While learning the particulars of her job she is unfamiliar with dealing with workplace harassment. The sergeant has a mistaken interpretation of an incident at the station and assigns a more experienced constable to mentor. Then she finds the body of a man they are looking for. Usually assigned to menial tasks, she does learn more about the victim and things have a rocky start before getting better. It still amazes me how threatened some men seem to be by the very presence of women in "their domain". A good read.
I requested and received an EARC from Severn House via NetGalley. Thank you

[Sue Em · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoy this historical cozy series. Billie Harkness moved to Hull, a major English port, after the death of her mother and was hired as one of the first two women constables. I love how Billie's native intelligence wins out over her shyness and the hestiancies of doing a man's job in an often hostile environment. When tasked with typing another officer's reports, she notices discrepancies and brings them to a superior's attention. She and her partner find the way through the labyrinth of missing articles, a child's death, and black market activities making for a satisfying and enjoyable read. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the the to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This second book in the series featuring WPC Billie Harkness is a strong WWII historical novel. For me what sets this book series apart from the many, many WWII novels set in London or Paris is that these books are set in the northern UK city of Hull. Hull was an important port city and played a significant role in the war. Billie is still settling into her job as one of only 2 female police constables recently hired due to the lack of available male applicants. Most of her fellow work mates do not approve of her hire and try to set her up for failure. I liked watching her realize her worth and figure out how to navigate this new world for working women.

[Homerun2 · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

Fledgling police constable Billie Harkness is back in this World War II era mystery. Unfortunately Billie is not only fighting crime, but is also battling the snide comments, prejudices, and even unwanted advances of her male co-workers.

Billie is a great character. She is smart and is gaining confidence, and we get to hear her thought processes and doubts. Not everyone she works with makes life more difficult -- her supervisor is a former suffragette and strong woman, the chief constable is on her side and is a friend of her aunt's, and most of all her work partner is a decent man who is supportive and fair.

A couple of different cases puzzle them and they are kept busy trying to figure out what is happening: mysterious thefts from a boarding house, burglaries to air raid shelters, and impersonations of public officials. But then a murder victim is found and they direct their efforts to figuring out who the dead man is and if there's any connection to any of the other criminal goings-on.

I like the well-drawn background of these novels and Billie's solid efforts to fit in and to do a good job. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

MURDER ON THE HOMEFRONT, the 2nd WPC Billie Harkness mystery from author Jessica Ellicott finds Billie Harkness faced with a number of situations related to her still relatively new job as a member of the Hull police constabulary.

It's 1940 and World War II is raging. The U.S. has yet to get involved in the war and with more and men headed to fight in the war, women have had to step up to fill roles traditionally held by men. But that doesn't mean those men still on hand are all that accepting of it.

The story kicks off less with a murder but more of a sadly evergreen story, sexual harassment of women in the workplace. Of course, it wasn't really called that back in the say but that's exactly what it is when Billie is accosted by one of her fellow constables. Still rather naive in how things work in the "big city", Billie is unsure of what to do. (A point that makes sense given the timeframe but was no less aggravating). Worse yet, she's "caught" by the station sergeant who thinks it is a consensual thing. He ends up assigning fellow constable Peter Upton to keep Billie out of the station as much as possible.

This ends up leading to the two of them stumbling over a body stashed away in one of the air-raid shelters. But the victim is hard to identify. He has two identity cards on him, with a different name on each one. As Billie and Peter peel away each level of investigation to discover who the victim is and how he ended up in the shelter, each new piece of information leads to more questions. And given the importance of those identity cards, finding out how he got them and how it could affect the public morale during the war, the case becomes politically touchy. It will require the deftness of both Billie and Peter to find out the truth without endangering themselves more than living in a war zone already has.

I really enjoy the way Jessica Ellicott is depicting the growing partnership between Billie and Peter. They aren't quite sure how to deal with each other but they keep plugging away at their case and their professional bond begins to grow. Faced with derision from most of the other constables, despite her clear ability for the job, Billie doesn't have many people to turn to for support. This makes Peter, Billie's direct boss Avis and her cousin Lydia all that more important to the plotline.

The case was pretty interesting because of all the complications that ensued. Plus you get to learn some tidbits about British life during the war without it becoming a "here's a bunch of info" history lession.

If there's one thing that did drive me crazy it was the B-plot with Billie being accosted. Not that it happened because I'm sure that was a thing back in the day much like it seems to be in the here and now. But my initial reaction to Constable Drummond being an ape by attacking her was to be mad at Billie for punching his lights out. And then I remembered the time and place of the story and the fact that having grown up in a country village setting as a protected rector's daughter would have left Billie relatively unprepared for the circumstances she found herself in. So then I got mad at myself for my initial reaction and Billie's inner monologue over whether or not to say anything to someone higher up the food chain than herself.

Otherwise, I was really into the story and wanted to see where Ellicott was going with the murder investigation. I'm finding myself really growing attached to Billie, Peter and the rest of the characters in this series and can't wait to see what comes next!

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

July 1940 Kingston-upon-Hull. WPC Billie Harkness and SPC Peter Upton while searching air raid shelters discover the body of a male who has several different I.D. cards on him. Who is he really and what has he been doing whilst in Hull. Billie and Peter are allowed to investigate. Meanwhile Billie suffers from harassment from one of the constables while Peter has his police badge stolen among other items from his lodging.
A well-written entertaining historical mystery with its likeable main characters. A good addition to this series.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Annalee Storey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. Need another in this series.

[Haley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the first book in this series last year & have been eagerly awaiting the next one since. I was so excited to be approved for a NetGalley ARC! Overall, I really enjoyed the book. I loved getting to know more about Peter, who I just adore after this book. I thought the mystery was a good one & led to an interesting, but not out-of-the-blue, conclusion. I still enjoy Billie as a main character.

There were a couple of things that kept this from being a 4-star book for me (I rarely give books 5 stars). One was how much of Billie's inner monologue we get. I felt like it could have been cut in half and we still would have the same concept of her as a character. This could be because her over-thinking and anxiety hit a bit too close to home for me, so it may not bother others. I also would have liked a bit more of Lydia & insight into what both Billie & Peter do when they're off the clock. The final thing is how abrupt the ending is. I thought I didn't get the full download at first. I wanted to see what the city council meeting Billie was supposed to speak at was like! Maybe in the next book.

All in all, I enjoyed it & I will read another in the series, but I think I enjoyed the first book more.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just reviewed Murder on the Home Front by Jessica Ellicott. #MurderontheHomeFront #NetGalley

This is a gentle mystery set in England during the 1940’s when fighting WW2.

It’s very good at showing, not only the fight against enemies from Germany, but also the effects it had on everyday life at home.

Women were working and keeping the country moving and this story revolves around a WPC who has to prove herself worthy of the position whilst fighting the blatant misogyny of the male police force.

[Fred · Rating 5 out of 5]

Murder On The Home Front is the second book in the A WPC Billie Harkness Mystery series by Jessica Ellicott.

It’s 1940 in the port city of Hull, England, and Billie Harkness is very grateful to her cousin, Lydia, for inviting her to live in Hull and suggesting she consider joining the local constabulary. Billie enjoys being a constable but wishes she was out patrolling the streets more. She’s assigned chiefly things the male constables don’t want to perform, typing, filing, and making tea. Billie wishes to be out on the streets with frequent partner Peter Upton.

As Billie is changing into her uniform, Constable Drummond is accosted by Constable Drummond, completely unwanted, and Sgt Skeleton sees them in unison. For this shift, Billie has been assigned to the front desk, where she will take down information about citizens needing the attention of constables. A couple reports their lodger has gone missing owing a week's rent. Billie and Peter are soon sent out to investigate the theft of items from a local air raid center. When they reach the center, they find a dead man who had been strangled. Billie finds two blank wartime IDs. Peter will share with Billie that most people who share lodgings with him have reported the theft of personal property. Even he has to admit to Billie that his badge has been stolen. Billie senses that these three cases are related and convinces Peter that they are. They will set out, try them together sandwich will lead them to the murderer.
This is a terrific, well-written, plotted, and historically accurate new series. The characters are well-developed, engaging, and believable. Billie and Peter work exceptionally well together. There appears to be some interest in each other apart from their policing activities. The book reads at a swift pace and has many twists and turns. I was kept guessing as to the killer's identity until the end of the book.

I’m anxiously awaiting the next book in this enjoyable series.

[Abigail Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an interesting read. We think so much of the big events in WWII, but so much went on in Britain and America on the home front.
A huge shift was the high numbers of women going into the workforce as the men were off fighting.
Here is a local constable in England learning the ropes of her job along with dealing with workplace harassment.
A murder mystery is woven into the story. Black out conditions gave a lot more opportunity for crimes to be committed.

[Kay Garrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

MURDER ON THE HOME FRONT by Jessica Ellicot is the second book in the A WPC Billie Harkness Mystery series. It’s the fascinating telling of WPC Billie Harkness and Constable Peter Upton as they investigate a case in June 1940. Their meandering route leads them to find cases of thief, impersonation, black market, murder, and treachery.

Billie recently relocated to Hull. With her father in a German POW camp and her mother recently dying, she accepted her cousin Lydia’s offer to come live with her. After a while, she was able to get a job at the constabulary. Being raised in a home where the dad was a pastor and her mother, a homemaker with a narrow way of thinking of what’s proper for a lady, landing this job was a huge change for Billie. However, she adjusted quite rapidly and loves her job - or she did until a certain constable made unwanted and unsolicited advances.

Peter isn’t a man to set idle. He holds down his regular job as dock inspector plus another shift as a special constable (an unpaid position). Always a careful person, he just can’t understand what has come of his constable badge. It came up missing one morning as he was preparing to head that way. He’ll have to find it or the consequences may have him losing his position. He will have to admit one of the bonus’ to being a constable is seeing and working beside Billie. However, working two shifts barely leaves him time to sleep and eat much less anything else. However, when his supervisor, after mistaking an incident in the break room, asks him to keep Billie out of the office as much as possible, he finds his duty to be quite delightful.

When a report of break-ins at the air raid shelters leads to finding the murdered body of a man posing as an official, it’s Billie and Peter that are assigned the task of finding answers. The weave of intrigue increases with each discovery as it leads them on another direction searching for answers. When assigned to investigate a report of trouble at some of the public air-raid shelters and the twisted puzzle it leads them on, can they figure it all out before someone else becomes a victim? How do all the events link up? Is there some connection between all the missing articles at Peter’s boarding house to the other events going on in town? Can Peter keep Billie busy and out of the station by allowing her to take the lead in this assignment? Will he find out that Billie is more than a pretty face, but rather a free-thinking woman with the ability to see what others miss giving her an edge in figuring things out? When Billie receives more advances from the constable, this one outside of the station, will she finally open up to others about what’s going on? Will working together create a special bond between Billie and Peter other than having them appreciating the other’s working skills and fellow worker?

MURDER ON THE HOME FRONT is a fabulous story on many levels. It gives you a glimpse of the situation back in that time – the difficulties, the lack of supplies that lead to rationing, how even in the harshest of conditions crime rears its ugly head with someone willing to make a buck at the expense of others and at the same time how some are willing to give their all for the cause. Jessica Ellicott keeps you turning pages as you maneuver through the labyrinth of clues following Billie and Peter as if you were a constable walking right beside them. Once I started reading MURDER ON THE HOME FRONT, there was no stopping until I knew the answers – all of them. You will experience the 1940’s through the characters - how Billie’s life had been turned upside down from past events and how she’s determined to be successful in this new job, how Peter’s love of country and his selflessness of working a second job for the betterment of his country all without pay, and how crime and greed seem to exist everywhere and anytime and what some folks are willing to do, but the law and those that uphold it will hunt you out regardless of what it takes.

MURDER ON THE HOME FRONT gets my five-star rating and I highly recommend it to anyone that loves a good mystery, a wonderful historical fiction or a whodunit where a host of great characters draws you in as they try to figure out the clues and the path they take them on. In a nutshell – Jessica Ellicot has written a fabulous can’t put down read for everyone! Although part of a series, MURDER ON THE HOME FRONT can most definitely be read as a standalone book.

Although I received a copy of the book from the author through a contest, I was not asked nor expected to write a review. All opinions are completely my own.

[Mark Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Billie Harkness has been on the job as one of only two female constables in the Hull police force for a few weeks now. In that time, neither her co-workers nor the public have come to accept her any more then when she first started. One of her true allies has been Peter Upton, a fellow constable who has been training her. When the two of them find a dead body in an air raid shelter, Billie discovers some details that don’t make any sense. Can they use those to figure out what happened to the victim?

It was great to be back in summer 1940 with Billie and Peter. While most of the book is written from Billie’s third person point of view, we get some scenes from Peter’s, and they help flesh out the characters and plot wonderfully. I was hooked the entire way through the story, although I did wonder where it was going a bit at first. Once the body turned up, things were full speed ahead until we reached the end. There is a strong sub-plot that is unfortunately too real and should not have been acceptable then or now. I appreciated how it was handled. The overall mystery is something that could only be told in England during World War II, and it helped bring details of that time in history to life for me. If you enjoy historical mysteries, you need to pick it up.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.

[Kidlitter · Rating 4 out of 5]

How thrilling to report that the second book in this series holds up the high standard set by the first with plucky Billie Harkness continuing her work as one of the first female police constables - WPC - in wartime Hull. But Billie's excellent instincts as an investigator into the nastier aspects of city crime don't help her when she becomes the victim of sexual harassment and workplace abuse. Billie's life as a rector's daughter in a small village has kept her innocent of the seamy side of things and she begins to doubt herself. This is all so sadly recognizable and unfortunately topical so kudos to Ellicott for keeping the plot moving on the crimes needing to be solved while Billie's partner Peter begins to recognize his co-worker is dealing with someone very nasty at the station. I do wish there will be a bit more from Billie's fellow pioneers in Hull - colleague Avis and Cousin Linda, who would be a great pairing in the next book.

P.S. This book is such a treat I will forgive the cover design of a random young woman walking away into a misty RAF decorated sky - my least favorite illustration trope. I refuse to believe this suitcase-clutching female is Billie, who would be clad in her smart policewoman's uniform that she is so proud of, and striding towards us bravely, of course.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intelligent, Entertaining, and Exceptional Read!

This book is the second installment in the Billie Harkness WPC mysteries. While I don't typically read books out of order, because I'm afraid there will be too many spoilers that will ruin the series, I'm glad I did. This is an intelligent, entertaining, and exceptional read! Billie, a female constable during WWII, works with her superior, Constable Upton to investigate a murder that takes place in a bomb shelter. The dynamic between the two of them is as intense and suspenseful as the plotting of the entire story. Clearly, there is an attraction brewing as their professional relationship grows. Upton treats Harkness with a professional respect that seems unique and illusive for that time period and it is a pleasure to watch it unfold. While there aren't spoilers about the first book in this installment, there are roots to the characters and relationship origins that I think would benefit from reading the books in order. I may have been given an ARC in order to provide my honest review, but the writing is so exceptional I would highly recommend getting the whole series!

[Knight Thief · Rating 4 out of 5]

i thoroughly enjoyed the read, set in WWII mysteries, which I have come to really like. Some of the dynamics of the day were shared nicely. I like the main characters - Billie & Peter and the soft romance developing.
My issue with the book and these books is that the mental ruminations designed to illuminate - are simply overdone to the point of being tiresome, repetitive, infantile, boring, irrelevant, miscellaneous, disorganized, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, and detracts from the storyline, the entertaining read - and the ruminations take it to the tween level rather than what it strives to be - an intelligent young woman, growing into herself and her role, and thinking through possibilities and options that lead to the evolution of the mystery, society and the character. Its just an immature, repetitive, disorganized annoyance. Its as though the author took out a box of socks and tries to make it germaine to the reader. This is in most of this genre of novels, not just Jessica Ellicot. I just don't have the patience for this irrelevant repetitive mental nonsense. I had to stop reading the Beryl series, which I thought were wonderful, but I can't take the stupidity.

Once redirected to the action and storyline of the mystery, it gets much better.

[Rita Mahan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a huge fan of murder mysteries but I do love WWII stories so gave this one a try. The mystery part was good, I didn't guess whodunit until it was revealed at the end. This is one in a series of Billie Harkness mysteries. Billie is a rector's daughter who leaves her rural village for Hull and a job as one of two female constables. I found her a bit annoying as she was excellent at her job but seemed very naive when it came to dealing with her male co-workers. Hopefully as the series progresses Billie will become the bad-ass female she will need to be.

[Annarella · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Jessica Ellicott's mystery series and I love Billie Harkness, a clever and strong characters.
This is the second instalment in this series and I liked how Billie changed and how she's adapting to living in a big town like Hull.
The mystery is solid and kept me guessing, the characters are fleshed out.
A compelling and gripping novel, highly recomended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the publisher’s description is that the second book in the WPC Harkness series is gripping, I didn’t find it so. While I enjoy the time in which the series is set—and learning more about WPCs, I was struck by how much I figured how about the mystery before the main characters. It felt like they could not figure out that 1 + 1 could equal 2. I hope the next book in the series improves or I will give it a miss.

[Eden · Rating 5 out of 5]

2024 bk 137. Its been a fascinating 48 hours as I've focused on reading the two books in Ellicott's new series. Set during WWII in the port city of Hull, the reader comes to know the layout of the city at that time, some of the energy it took to live and work in such a time and place, and mostly to know the main characters. Well researched history and well plotted and detailed mystery - with many twists and hidden connections. I am looking forward to another title in this series.

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this book provides a flavor of the time and place — Kingston-upon-Hull in 1940 — I found the mystery plot confusing and actually, rather slight, as the story seemed more focused on Billie's concerns. The book could also have used some additional editing as I couldn't help noticing both unnecessary repetition, and several instances of missing words.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The WWII era is not my favorite era for stories, but I like Jessica Ellicott's mysteries and very much liked the first book in the series, so had no trouble wanting to see what Billie was up to in this book. Billie is a very creditable character and I adore Peter! I think I still like the Edwina and Beryl series better, but that's probably splitting hairs.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I pushed a bit to keep going on this mystery as if was somewhat middling in quality. Not bad - just not all that engaging for me. The plotting and character interest picked up at the 3/4 point and I finished the book feeling more interested that I had been.

It is only fair to note that I am in the depths of a bad reading slump and I'm sure that affected my reactions.

[Janie P · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second book in the series and it is equally good as Book 1. A little slower perhaps but I was distracted during the listening of this book so will probably re-read. Her other series is fun but I find this one far more engaging. Addresses some real social ills and how people can, even when fighting a common enemy, still be an enemy to their own neighbors.

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series offers interesting relatable characters, a sense of history and place. I throughly enjoyed the second installment despite the typos and the one evidence glitch. Jessica Elliott is a very good author who needs better editing support.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good mystery but I was surprised that the book ended so abruptly. I thought I was missing pages until I saw other reviewers said the same thing.

[Kate Leimer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely loving this WW2 crime series! Well-observed characters, good plots and deft historical detail. Perfect for those who enjoy Foyles War or Edward Marston

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I'm looking forward to the 3rd book in the series.

[GailW · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very enjoyable installment in the series. Murder, stolen identity cards, sexual harassment, all while trying to keep the home front safe.