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The Secret Detective Agency

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The Secret Detective Agency

By: Helena Dixon
Narrated by: Kristin Atherton
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A totally gripping historical English cozy murder mystery

Meet Miss Jane Treen–the coffee-drinking cat lover dressed head to toe in tweed, who just happens to be a secret super sleuth!

London, 1941: Miss Jane Treen is at her desk, strong black coffee in hand and fluffy ginger cat by her side, when her top-secret government work is interrupted by an urgent call to Devon. A woman has been found dead in a lake in a place where she shouldn’t have been. Jane needs to gather the clues and find the killer before someone else from the agency gets hurt…

Shy and handsome code-breaker Arthur Cilento is bewildered by the arrival of the efficient Miss Treen and her cat Marmaduke. She bursts into his life unexpectedly, forcing him out of his comfort zone. The reluctant colleagues huddle near the warmth of a crackling fire in Arthur's country home, working to piece together the murderous puzzle at hand.

In the sleepy Devon village, someone is hiding something: but is it the busybody vicar and his sister, the dutiful housekeeper and her secretive son, the stern librarian, or someone else altogether? And who were the people with the woman in the lake on the day she died?

No sooner have Arthur and Jane have drawn up a list of suspects, than a parcel reveals a clue that sends them in hot pursuit of a coded diary stashed in a village church. But as the heavy wooden door slams behind them and a key turns in the lock, one thing is sure: they need to unravel the truth and crack this code before the killer decides their number is up

But if they can catch the culprit in time, might this unusual pair become the finest crime-solving partnership since Holmes and Watson hung up their hats…?

If you love twisty crime novels, top-secret intrigue and the very best of Golden Age mysteries, then you will adore Helena Dixon’s totally gripping cozy novel, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, T E Kinsey and Verity Bright!

©2025 Helena Dixon (P)2025 Bookouture, an imprint of Storyfire Ltd.
Amateur Sleuths Cosy Historical Mystery Private Investigators Crime Cats Detective
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I liked it. All was good but I expected the cat to be more of a feature and the FMC doesn't really seem like someone who would even like a cat.

Narration is Excellent

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I'm starting to wonder if some authors don't want to write a great story, but instead work to keep the reader just hooked and frustrated enough that she persosts to see if the issues of the story resolve to a comforting conclusion? All of the moments that are so annoying to a reader, when the characters aren't seeing what is implied to the reader or the characters don't follow up on what appears to be a useful lead to follow . The writer not following up on the early statement by Arthur that 'this could be personal' left me irritated. The whole mystery turned out to be of a personal vendetta,.so the author not honing in on Arthur's so called 'excellent code-breaking skills' was sloppy.
I felt the same reading the charity shop detective novel and the very English murder (different authors). All these annoying loose ends.
I enjoyed having a character with health problems, basically a physical disability, with no embarassment or need to hide it. Good job on that. Look, I'm so annoyed I'll probably start listening to her next book to see if it gets any better. maybe the author is a master of writing Afterall.

Strong potential

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I’ve become addicted to Cozy Crime and really enjoy all of Helena Dixon’s books.
They are so well written, that I can easily visualise the characters and storyline.

However, there are a couple of chapters where the narrator talks far too quickly. So much so I thought I’d accidentally increased the speed. But it was set to normal.
This was the only issue I had with this audiobook as I found it very distracting when listening.
All the other audiobooks by Helena Dixon, the narration is fine, except this one. I much prefer Karen Cass as the narrator.

Gripping story and very well written…….But! Narration was disappointing

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Enjoyed this first in series, and would recommend, high standard of writing and great characters. Slightly different to average cozy mystery due to main personalities. The story flows well.

Fun and thoughtful characters

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