The Secret Detective Agency

De: Helena Dixon

Narrado por: Kristin Atherton

A totally gripping historical English cozy murder mystery

Meet Miss Jane Treen–the coffee-drinking cat lover dressed head to toe in tweed, who just happens to be a secret super sleuth!

London, 1941: Miss Jane Treen is at her desk, strong black coffee in hand and fluffy ginger cat by her side, when her top-secret government work is interrupted by an urgent call to Devon. A woman has been found dead in a lake in a place where she shouldn’t have been. Jane needs to gather the clues and find the killer before someone else from the agency gets hurt…

Shy and handsome code-breaker Arthur Cilento is bewildered by the arrival of the efficient Miss Treen and her cat Marmaduke. She bursts into his life unexpectedly, forcing him out of his comfort zone. The reluctant colleagues huddle near the warmth of a crackling fire in Arthur's country home, working to piece together the murderous puzzle at hand.

In the sleepy Devon village, someone is hiding something: but is it the busybody vicar and his sister, the dutiful housekeeper and her secretive son, the stern librarian, or someone else altogether? And who were the people with the woman in the lake on the day she died?

No sooner have Arthur and Jane have drawn up a list of suspects, than a parcel reveals a clue that sends them in hot pursuit of a coded diary stashed in a village church. But as the heavy wooden door slams behind them and a key turns in the lock, one thing is sure: they need to unravel the truth and crack this code before the killer decides their number is up…

But if they can catch the culprit in time, might this unusual pair become the finest crime-solving partnership since Holmes and Watson hung up their hats…?

If you love twisty crime novels, top-secret intrigue and the very best of Golden Age mysteries, then you will adore Helena Dixon’s totally gripping cozy novel, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, T E Kinsey and Verity Bright!

©2025 Helena Dixon (P)2025 Bookouture, an imprint of Storyfire Ltd.

Enjoyable

It was good and I love Helena Dixon. I did figure out the killer pretty early on . I will continue the series.

Very good but a little slow for me

Helena Dixon could write a menu and it would be well written and entertaining. She is simply a fantastic author. I loved the characters in this book but the story ran a little slow for me. I would have preferred more action and less talk. The most exciting action item was the lead character getting her purse stolen. I understand that she must introduce the characters as she sets up the series, but it just seems to me she did a much better job of that with the murder in the Dolphin Hotel. There, she introduced us to several characters and there was never a dull moment as there was so much action. In her new series, the number of characters to introduce is very low-a handful really-and not much happened. They figured out who the murderer was and they all went home. Hopefully, things will pick up with her next book on this series. I can't wait to to find out! Love Helena Dixon and I hope the Kitty Underhay series never ends! I also found the narration a bit fast.

Hard to follow the crime

Fun relationships and great history…but I really couldn’t follow who had done what. Too many people and nicknames a code names and unnecessary complexity and locations.

Absolutely love this!

Originally I got an ACL from NetGalley but I loved the story so much that I pre-ordered the audiobook and then listened to it again immediately!
Can’t wait for the next one!

Well done with an edge. Will buy next.

Change of pace for author. More action and mystery than her Kitty Underhill series, which is a good series, just more light in tone than this. This is a cozy, yes, so it fits that genre with plenty of dead bodies and mystery but we do not have to hear them screaming while being tortured or see the gushing blood. Story is set in WWII England and has a distinct edge with espionage, intricate plot, and action. No descriptions of sex. Moves quickly. Holds ones interest. Start of a new series it seems. I will buy the next. Worth a credit.