Betrayal at Ravenswick: A Fiona Figg Mystery

Kelly Oliver

May 2019 · Fiona Figg Mysteries Book 1 · Level Best Books · Narrated by Nikki Delgado

About this audiobook

Downton Abbey meets Agatha Christie in this entertaining series opener.

What’s the best way to forget an unfaithful husband?

Become a spy for British Intelligence, of course.

“A good dose of humor while keeping the heartbreaking reality of war in the mix. This is one epic read.” – The Los Angeles Post

Desperate to get out of London and determined to help the war effort, Fiona Figg volunteers to go undercover.

It keeps her from thinking about Andrew, her philandering husband.

At Ravenswick Abbey a charming South African war correspondent has tongues wagging.

His friends say he’s a crack huntsman. The War Office is convinced he’s a traitor. Fiona thinks he’s a pompous prig.

What sort of name is Fredrick Fredricks anyway?

Too bad Fiona doesn’t own a Wolseley pith helmet. At Ravenswick a murderer is on the prowl, and it’s not just the big-game hunter who's ready to pounce.

PRAISE FOR BETRAYAL AT RAVENSWICK

“Take a plucky sleuth, a handsome soldier, a shady stranger, add mystery and a dash of espionage, shake well, and you have Betrayal at Ravenswick. Fans of traditional mysteries will root for Fiona Figg as she navigates the treachery of London and a seemingly bucolic English country manor at a time when everything in England was changing.” —Liz Milliron, author of The Homefront Mysteries

“A truly masterful and mysterious web — as one mystery wraps up, an even bigger one appears offering more questions than answers. Oliver leaves her readers gasping on the final page, cursing the dastardly villain and marking their calendar for the release of the second Fiona Figg mystery, High Treason at the Grand Hotel. Perfect for fans of Downton Abbey and readers of Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs novels.” —BookTrib

Ratings and reviews

This was my first time reading Kelly Oliver and I had to wonder, what took me so long? This was an enjoyable and entertaining historical cozy mystery set in 1914 England during WWI and written from the first-person POV of a female file clerk turned working in the War Office who was sent on a spy mission and having the time of her life. Just what a newly divorced woman shot of a philandering husband would need to relocate her identity and self-confidence. The entertaining storylines were rather complicated with a large cast of unusual and untrustworthy characters, but I enjoyed the chase and her multiple missteps. While there wasn’t a vile cliffhanger to rankle and stir my ire, the tale did not fully resolve and will continue on through subsequent installments. I can live with that since I have the next volume locked on loaded on my beloved Kindle. I obtained two new items to add to my ever-growing Brit Words and Phrases list with a rum do which is a messy circumstance plagued with bad luck, poor fortune, or deliberate sabotage. And a hair receiver, which Mr. Google informed me, along with colorful examples, was a small pot or jar with a hole in the top that was used in the Victorian era and was typically made of ceramic, bronze, or crystal. It was kept on the dressing table to store their personal hair after being collected from brushes and combs. Said hair was used in jewelry and art – umm, no thank you.

2 1/2 stars. Unsatisfactory resolution to murder, lots of confusion about the real identity of Frederick Fredericks. A bit of a mess, yet intriguing

cosy-mystery, 1910s, agent, amateur-sleuth, family-dynamics, false-information, England, situational-humor, depression, murder-investigation, murder***** The mystery became interesting but the voice actor continued to be irritating despite a good ability to differentiate characters. And characters they certainly are! Fiona goes into a deep depression after finding her husband in flagrante and being divorced by him. Only her job as a file clerk for the British War Office helps her to keep going on, and then she winds up replacing an agent needed on assignment. But she has to impersonate a male doctor! She's doing passably well when the murder occurs and she needs to investigate. Good sight read!