Light-Hearted Amateur Sleuthing

The Jazz Files by Fiona Veitch Smith is a marvellous historical novel and the first book in the Poppy Denby Investigates series. It is set in 1920 as Britain is recovering from WWI and then a flu epidemic. The 1920’s promises to be a glorious new decade but for some there are old crimes to solve.

With her heart set on being a reporter, Poppy Denby seems to just fall into amateur sleuthing. Her reporter’s nose spots when things are not quite right. She sets her sights on righting the wrongs of the past. The Jazz Files is very reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple.

The theme of the story surrounds the suffragettes. They were treated abominably and still seem to be being pursued. Historical details merge with fiction to produce a cracking story.