Jack Treby

A classically British crime caper, A Scandal At Bletchley is a fun mash-up of Downton Abbey, Agatha Christie and James Bond.

The protagonist, Hilary Manningham-Butler, is a woman who has spent most of her life living as a man and a lot of fun is had with the difficulties this entails. The narrative is both fresh and familiar, with Jack Treby’s mastery of pace and narrative suspense making for an engaging read. The author shows little interest in straying from the traditional tropes of the mystery genre but this is not necessarily to its detriment. The dialogue is animated, the plot is genuinely riveting, and while a couple of the characters are fairly obvious, they are brought to life with a fullness that excuses any lack of originality.… (mais)