As I was reading this one, I began to hope that there wouldn’t be a HEA as I wanted this book to be the start of a series. This became such a strong feeling that I stopped reading at 78% and emailed the book’s publicist to ask. I am delighted to report that it is indeed the start of a series! Yes!

The Honorable Ginevra Bishop is a treasure and someone I would love to befriend. She’s smart as a whip, supportive of her friends, inquisitive and takes precisely zero nonsense. She has what my grandmother hilariously called ‘good breeding.’ By that my gran meant: adept at talking to people and navigating social situations, being perceptive, and always being well turned out. I have zero idea how universal that idea was. My gran was raised in a rural part of a British colony by a ballet dancer and soldier, so truly anything is possible.

Sidney Braithwaite fought in World War II. Specifically, he worked in espionage in France. The work left him with terrible nightmares and a feeling that he didn’t fit in anywhere. He pretty much keeps to himself at the start. Okay, he has one friend, Harold, but I’m pretty sure Harold is the kind of person who could successfully befriend a street pole, such is his enthusiasm.

Gin’s two closest friends are Iris (AKA Tweety) and Sarita, and they add a lot of colour to the plot and even some intrigue! I mention them because based on my knowledge of so-called posh people (i.e. watching Miranda, the TV show) I would have been disappointed if there wasn’t an aristo with a funny nickname.

Anyway, it’s 1951 and Gin is studying German at Oxford. Sidney comes from a mining village up north and is studying Latin. The two meet in a crowded library as they’re each looking for a space to study. It is instant friction between them. Not full-on enemies, but they’re short with each other and not at all friendly. A few months later (during which they carefully skirt around each other), they happen to be in the same place at the same time outside a debate and there together they witness a beloved librarian dying. The librarian says his last words in Gin’s arms.

Only that was no ordinary librarian. He was an agent for the British Security Service. Sidney and Gin are jointly contacted by the Rook – Sidney’s former spy boss – and their joint help is requested in ferreting out who killed the librarian-agent. Gin says yes because she is curious about the work. Sidney says a reluctant yes because he needs the money. Crucially they are not asked to masquerade as a couple as they follow clues.

The blurb is accurate when it says that “the pair of undergraduates clash in personality, upbringing, and taste.” It was only at 45% that they agreed to be civil with each other and actually cooperate. And by that I mean, share what they find as they follow their individual clues. And maybe, just maybe, follow some clues together.

It does start slow or, at least, that’s how it felt to me. Partly that is because I went into it expecting a romance-dominant plot (based on the concluding line of the blurb) but that is not the case at all. This is first and foremost a historical mystery. The romance is definitely a subplot. Once I realised that I settled into the book and just let it take me on a ride.

Aside from Gin being a delight, my favourite part was the rich historical detail. I really felt immersed in the time period and setting. The slang of the time is used consistently throughout without hampering readability. The technology of the time impacts the plot and how events unfold. The social norms of the time (wearing nylons, hats and gloves! Using Mr and Miss and Lord for all but your closest friends!) were very much present in the story. It felt like I was reading a book written in 1951 not just set in 1951 only without the overt prejudices of that time. For example, people of colour are a) present in the story and b) portrayed positively; Goa’s struggle for independence from Portugal is presented as a good thing! It was glorious!

As with all mysteries, the plot really speeds up once you pass 60% or so. Then it’s a rollercoaster. I won’t reveal them here obviously but I’m quite rabid for the sequel already.

If historical detail is important to you, if you can appreciate a slow burn romance and if you enjoy a good spy novel, then I can happily recommend this book to you. I shall be waiting with bated breath for the rest of this series.