Wink, Murder
Mary is reluctantly leaving Bletchley Park, following orders which take her to Bedford and top-secret lessons in Japanese. The only girl in the group, she finds herself befriended by her American study partner, Spencer. Suddenly summoned back to Bletchley, Mary finds herself heading off on assignment to London where she is to pose as a waitress and listen in on the conversations of prisoners dining at the Ritz Hotel. To her surprise, Spencer has also been posted on this assignment and the two work together on the case. But odd things constantly remind Mary that she should ‘Trust no one’, making her question everyone…
This is the third ‘Bletchley Park Mystery’ which features friends, Robyn, Ned and Mary and their experiences whilst based at Bletchley Park during WWII. They are cracking stories, full of excitement and adventure and historical detail. This book focuses on Mary, a mixed-race girl from Liverpool and is just as excellent as the first two.
There are so many elements to this book, all skilfully combined to create a really fascinating story. Not only does it offer a look at the world of espionage, its technology and agents, during the second world war, but it is very rich in background information about life at this time. Mary is caught on a bus during a bomb raid and she helps out with the WVS (The Women's Voluntary Service), allowing the reader to learn more about these things. The book also does not shy away from the racism and sexism she experiences, nor from the way immigrants were treated.
‘Wink, Murder’ would make an excellent class text, either for a thoroughly enjoyable class read or an equally enjoyable focus book to use to support learning about WWII. Additional notes at the end of the book support understanding of some of the elements in the story with plenty of links to enable those interested to explore further. Readers are sure to be inspired to visit Bletchley Park which is truly fascinating. I really hope there are more ‘Bletchley Park Mystery’ books still to come as each one is even better than the last!
Wink, Murder: A Bletchley Park Mystery
Rhian Tracey
Piccadilly Press ISBN: 978-1800789593
You can read about my visit to Bletchley Park here.
