Smoke & Cracked Mirrors

Written by Karen Charlton

Narrated by Corrie James

York, England: 1940

"An unsuitable job for a woman . . . "

When her husband goes "missing in action," Jemma James returns to the city of her birth to set up a private detective agency with her best friend, Roberta "Bobbie" Baker, with whom she shares a passionate love of Golden Age crime fiction.

These two enterprising young women soon find themselves embroiled in a series of mysterious cases, shadowing blackmailers and bigamists, and investigating the perplexing history of a wealthy young woman who seems determined to wipe out her past. And it's not long before they stumble across an unsolved murder.

But the dead don't stay dead for long in historic York.

As the "phoney war" draws to a close, and the sky above the soaring twin towers of the twelfth century Minster darkens with menace, Jemma learns that even she is not above suspicion in wartime Britain.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Dec 27, 2022
• ISBN: 9798765017586

Karen Charlton

Karen Charlton writes historical mysteries and is also the author of a non-fiction genealogy book, Seeking Our Eagle. She has published short stories and numerous articles and reviews in newspapers and magazines. An English graduate and former teacher, Karen has led writing workshops and has spoken at a number of literary events across the north of England, where she lives. Karen now writes full-time. A stalwart of the village pub quiz and a member of a winning team on the BBC quiz show Eggheads, Karen also enjoys the theatre and won a Yorkshire Tourist Board award for her Murder Mystery Weekends. Find out more about Karen’s work at www.karencharlton.com.

Reviews for Smoke & Cracked Mirrors

[Kim Ring · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I liked this book. The mysteries were mainly pretty simple but entertaining. The characters were likable.

[Elizabeth Rundle · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed the story because it was about two ordinary women following their dreams. I have visited York so that was interesting and love hearing about war time England. Thank you

[Lisa Moriah Chenthitta · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely outstanding. I already loved this author’s work but this is by far her best yet. Lots of interweaving mysteries and amazingly lush detail bringing WW2 York come to life. Cannot wait for more.