Caffeinated Reviewer

Sophia Rose is here with a review of The Traitor Among Us by Anne Perry. This is the fifth novel in the Elena Standish, historical mystery series. Check out the review and see why it had Sophia feverishly flipping pages.

Elena Standish investigates the murder of a fellow MI6 agent near the country estate of one of England's most influential families in this gripping mystery from New York Times bestselling author Anne Perry.

Not far from the sprawling grounds of Wyndham Hall, longtime MI6 agent John Repton's body is found with a bullet hole through the heart. The corpse's proximity to the estate sends ripples of concern through the intelligence community: Repton was killed while surveilling the members of a household with alleged ties to fascists--who threaten the security of the country as Hitler's control spreads across Europe. Elena Standish is assigned the case since she has a connection to the Wyndham family; Lady Wyndham's brother is courting Elena's older sister Margot.

Elena secures an invitation to Wyndham Hall for herself and a "date,"--her colleague James Allenby. To covertly investigate Repton's murder, the pair must uncover the true loyalties of the people in the house while protecting Margot from her beau's potentially dangerous relatives. But Elena is torn, for her sister has finally found happiness after years of heartbreak and sorrow, and having to take down the Wyndhams would destroy her new relationship.

As Elena and Allenby dig deeper into the Wyndham family's nefarious connections, Margot grows suspicious. Can Elena reconcile her political and professional obligations with her loyalty and love for her sister? Will Elena and Allenby get to the bottom of their colleague's murder? In The Traitor Among Us, Anne Perry raises the stakes--for Elena, MI6, and for Britain's future.

Sophia Rose’s Review

After the harrowing events of the previous book that read more like thriller than mystery with Elena working for MI-6 in Germany when Hitler’s Brown Shirts come into the open with their bloody and lethal Night of the Long Knives, Elena is called into service once again, but this time on her home soil and with a mission that strikes her own family.  Anne Perry passed away earlier this year and she has long been a favorite historical mystery author for me so I felt emotional picking up this post-humus release for her one of her current series.

The Traitor Among Us is the fifth of the Elena Standish historical suspenses that read best tied together as Elena learns the secret heritage of service within her own family and follows in her grandfather’s MI-6 footsteps working in Britain’s best interest as Nazi Germany is on the rise during the 1930’s.

Elena poses as a gifted professional photographer, and she is that, with a history of flubbing her chance to follow her Ambassador father into the Foreign Service by trusting the wrong man.  Now, she has been recruited by the secret service and must hide her work like her grandparents have all these years.  This time, her pose is as sister to the woman set to join the powerful Wyndham family while investigating the death of a nearly retired British operative outside Wyndham Hall.  This is complicated as a truth because her widowed older sister Margot is on the verge of becoming engaged to Lady Wyndham’s powerful banker brother.  The Wyndham’s are part of a powerful social set that include the Prince of Wales and his intriguing American mistress, Wallace Simpson, and plenty of other political pacifists.  Are their political leanings behind the death of the agent?  Do they in fact do more than admire Hitler and his Nazi Party?  Elena and her partner James Allenby must find out quickly.

Wow, a suspenseful and emotionally-taunt story.  There is the mission that has Elena and a familiar Allenby, who was her partner in book three, A Darker Reality, keeping up a pretense to the rest of the country house party and Margot that they are the carefree younger sister and her new boyfriend down to meet Margot’s love interest and his family while listening carefully, sneaking about the estate, and gathering evidence without getting suspected.  But, there is the personal struggle that happens between Elena and Margot who rub one another wrong.  Margot is convinced Elena is jealous and attention-seeking and will embarrass Margot with the Wyndhams and their friends.  She is convinced Elena can’t have happiness because she’s different and has no patience for the sister who was always trying to catch up with her pretty, graceful and fashionable older sister.  Elena can’t tell her the truth about James or her own life and Margot senses the reserve, but not the reason so the chances of Elena saving her sister from the net she is caught up in, at least it is starting to look that way, is grave.

So yes, this was exciting and had me feverishly flipping pages so I finished the book in a day.  Impressive to the end.  For those who wonder since this will be the last released in the series, the series is worth reading because this one wraps up the mission and leaves Elena’s story in a good place with broad enough hints so that there is moderate closure.  Unlike Perry’s other series, this is espionage-focused rather than police investigation so falls into historical thriller more than historical mystery so I’d recommend it along those lines to potential readers.

Amazon | Audible

About Anne Perry

Juliet Hulme a British historical novelist took the name "Anne Perry," the latter being her stepfather's surname. Her first novel, The Cater Street Hangman, was published under this name in 1979. Her works generally fall into one of several categories of genre fiction, including historical murder mysteries and detective fiction. Many of them feature a number of recurring characters, most importantly Thomas Pitt, who appeared in her first novel, and amnesiac private investigator William Monk, who first appeared in her 1990 novel The Face of a Stranger. As of 2003 she had published 47 novels, and several collections of short stories. Her story "Heroes," which first appeared the 1999 anthology Murder and Obsession, edited by Otto Penzler, won the 2001 Edgar Award for Best Short Story.

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About Sophia Rose

Sophia is a quiet though curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, and gardening. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes Region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, Baseball, Cats, Scooby Doo, and Chocolate.

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About Kimberly

Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

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