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Mayfair 100 #5
A Killing Near Waterloo Station
The British public are up in arms, due to the execution, by the Germans,
of a British nurse, Edith Cavell, suspected of being a British spy.
Sadly, this leads to riots in London, where shops and businesses with
German names, are smashed and looted. Rigsby and Tollman find
themselves rescuing a young woman, Mattie Grunwald from the ruins
of her family’s haberdashery shop, when Eastenders go on the rampage.
Her father is interned as an enemy alien and she is running the business alone.
Meanwhile, the Mayfair 100 team is given the task of investigating the
abduction of two women from a train at a disused station outside Waterloo
during a Zeppelin raid. This leads them to a grisly discovery on board a
vessel moored in the centre of the Thames and plunges them into the highly
sensitive area of military intelligence, enemy spies, classified war plans
and an involvement with the Romanian embassy in London.
Suddenly, there is a daring robbery at the London Silver Vaults.
What was stolen is shrouded in secrecy but it has links to the abduction
of the two women and the Romanian royal family. Chief Inspector Beech
becomes drawn into a passionate encounter that changes his life irrevocably
of a British nurse, Edith Cavell, suspected of being a British spy.
Sadly, this leads to riots in London, where shops and businesses with
German names, are smashed and looted. Rigsby and Tollman find
themselves rescuing a young woman, Mattie Grunwald from the ruins
of her family’s haberdashery shop, when Eastenders go on the rampage.
Her father is interned as an enemy alien and she is running the business alone.
Meanwhile, the Mayfair 100 team is given the task of investigating the
abduction of two women from a train at a disused station outside Waterloo
during a Zeppelin raid. This leads them to a grisly discovery on board a
vessel moored in the centre of the Thames and plunges them into the highly
sensitive area of military intelligence, enemy spies, classified war plans
and an involvement with the Romanian embassy in London.
Suddenly, there is a daring robbery at the London Silver Vaults.
What was stolen is shrouded in secrecy but it has links to the abduction
of the two women and the Romanian royal family. Chief Inspector Beech
becomes drawn into a passionate encounter that changes his life irrevocably
275 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 14, 2023
35 people are currently reading
32 people want to read
About the author
Lynn Brittney
66 books109 followersLynn Brittany has been a writer for almost thirty years and has written several adult and children’s non-fiction books and many plays for adults and children that have been performed all over the world. Her first young adult novel was shortlisted for the Waterstone’s Book Prize; the Brandford Boase Award and the Doncaster Book Prize. Her second young adult novel was included in the UK Government’s Recommended Reading List for Boys and was described by the Daily Telegraph as containing…”furious swordplay, tremendous chases, atmospheric journeys and wince-inducing reminders that this was an age before anaesthetics.”
'Mayfair 100: A Murder in Belgravia' is her first historical crime novel for adults and was published by Mirror Books in January 2018.
She has been a writer for many years, first working as a journalist on trade and business magazines. She also worked part-time as a drama teacher and began writing plays for children, young adults and older actors. These are published by Playstage Junior, Playstage YA and Playstage Senior.
Then, when her son was a teenager, she became aware that teachers were struggling to interest their pupils in Shakespeare, so she embarked upon writing a series of young adult novels set in Elizabethan England, involving espionage, action and Shakespearian plots. The Nathan Fox books were nominated for various awards, such as the Waterstone’s Book Prize and the Brandford Boase Award. She then created some fact books to accompany the novels, called The Elizabethan World of Nathan Fox. Both novels and fact books have become useful tools in English speaking schools around the world. These books are now published by Iris Books in London.
In 2017, she began to write a series of period murder mysteries – called the Mayfair 100 series. Set in London during WW1, the books involve a secret team of professional policemen and educated women in solving crimes. The team are based in Mayfair, an upper-class area of London and Mayfair 100 is the telephone number. Book 1, called A Murder in Belgravia, was published in the UK by Mirror Books, at the beginning of 2018 and the second book in the series was published in the UK in March 2019. The American version of Book 1 was published by Crooked Lane Books in March 2019.
In 2019, a second murder mystery book, in the Mayfair 100 series, called A Death in Chelsea, was published by Mirror Books in the UK and by Crooked Lane in the USA.
During the lockdown of 2020, Lynn Brittney tried her hand at something new and wrote a series of three small books entitled Gifts From Your Garden. An avid gardener, cook and craftsperson, she decided to combine all her hobbies and skills into Book 1: Culinary, Book 2: Health and Beauty and Book 3: Crafts. The trio of little books are packed with recipes, instructions and tips on how to make use of everything you grow and make them into gifts for friends and family. These books are published by Iris Books of London.
All of Lynn Brittney's plays are published by the Playstage Group (Playstage Junior, YA and Senior).
'Mayfair 100: A Murder in Belgravia' is her first historical crime novel for adults and was published by Mirror Books in January 2018.
She has been a writer for many years, first working as a journalist on trade and business magazines. She also worked part-time as a drama teacher and began writing plays for children, young adults and older actors. These are published by Playstage Junior, Playstage YA and Playstage Senior.
Then, when her son was a teenager, she became aware that teachers were struggling to interest their pupils in Shakespeare, so she embarked upon writing a series of young adult novels set in Elizabethan England, involving espionage, action and Shakespearian plots. The Nathan Fox books were nominated for various awards, such as the Waterstone’s Book Prize and the Brandford Boase Award. She then created some fact books to accompany the novels, called The Elizabethan World of Nathan Fox. Both novels and fact books have become useful tools in English speaking schools around the world. These books are now published by Iris Books in London.
In 2017, she began to write a series of period murder mysteries – called the Mayfair 100 series. Set in London during WW1, the books involve a secret team of professional policemen and educated women in solving crimes. The team are based in Mayfair, an upper-class area of London and Mayfair 100 is the telephone number. Book 1, called A Murder in Belgravia, was published in the UK by Mirror Books, at the beginning of 2018 and the second book in the series was published in the UK in March 2019. The American version of Book 1 was published by Crooked Lane Books in March 2019.
In 2019, a second murder mystery book, in the Mayfair 100 series, called A Death in Chelsea, was published by Mirror Books in the UK and by Crooked Lane in the USA.
During the lockdown of 2020, Lynn Brittney tried her hand at something new and wrote a series of three small books entitled Gifts From Your Garden. An avid gardener, cook and craftsperson, she decided to combine all her hobbies and skills into Book 1: Culinary, Book 2: Health and Beauty and Book 3: Crafts. The trio of little books are packed with recipes, instructions and tips on how to make use of everything you grow and make them into gifts for friends and family. These books are published by Iris Books of London.
All of Lynn Brittney's plays are published by the Playstage Group (Playstage Junior, YA and Senior).
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 13, 2025
1915. Tension is high in London and foreign establishments are being attacked. Meanwhile 2 females and 2 baskets of pigeons have disappeared from a guards' train compartment. The team investigate.
An enjoyable historical mystery
An enjoyable historical mystery
January 18, 2024
This has been an interesting series. It's well written and extensively researched.
I didnt enjoy this one as much. The original premise of the series was to incorporate women to investigate crimes against women and although it did begin with an abduction of two women, it fell into a book about foreign agents and military matters in wartime. Caroline and Victoria were barely present at all.
I hope that if this series does continue, it gets back to the original premise.
I didnt enjoy this one as much. The original premise of the series was to incorporate women to investigate crimes against women and although it did begin with an abduction of two women, it fell into a book about foreign agents and military matters in wartime. Caroline and Victoria were barely present at all.
I hope that if this series does continue, it gets back to the original premise.
August 24, 2024
Another great read
I found this series by accident a few years ago and I am hooked.
The storylines are intriguing and the characters are beautifully drawn, set during the First World War it shows that the manpower shortage meant women were needed to bridge the gap while the men were away fighting. This unlikely group breeched the class divide, from Sissy and Elsie, two working class women, to the aristocratic Lady Maud, her daughter Victoria, a trained solicitor who could not practice, to Mabel Summersby, a pharmacist and would be forensic scientist and Caroline Allardyce, a doctor at the Woman’s hospital. Into the mix comes Chief Inspector Peter Beech and Constable Billy Rigsby both invalided out of the Services and the reinstated DS Arthur Tollman who came out of retirement to help when younger policemen were drafted into the military.
On the face of it these people have nothing in common but someone in authority realised that with most men fighting at the front there was a need for a group with their skills and their successes demonstrated that the need existed. They work well together and care about each other, which prior to the war would not have been considered possible or desirable. A very enjoyable series.
This book opens with the abduction of two women and two boxes of pigeons from a train during a Zeppelin raid on London, very intriguing.
I found this series by accident a few years ago and I am hooked.
The storylines are intriguing and the characters are beautifully drawn, set during the First World War it shows that the manpower shortage meant women were needed to bridge the gap while the men were away fighting. This unlikely group breeched the class divide, from Sissy and Elsie, two working class women, to the aristocratic Lady Maud, her daughter Victoria, a trained solicitor who could not practice, to Mabel Summersby, a pharmacist and would be forensic scientist and Caroline Allardyce, a doctor at the Woman’s hospital. Into the mix comes Chief Inspector Peter Beech and Constable Billy Rigsby both invalided out of the Services and the reinstated DS Arthur Tollman who came out of retirement to help when younger policemen were drafted into the military.
On the face of it these people have nothing in common but someone in authority realised that with most men fighting at the front there was a need for a group with their skills and their successes demonstrated that the need existed. They work well together and care about each other, which prior to the war would not have been considered possible or desirable. A very enjoyable series.
This book opens with the abduction of two women and two boxes of pigeons from a train during a Zeppelin raid on London, very intriguing.
March 5, 2024
Great mystery but the proofreading misses are becoming harder to overlook. Caroline and Victoria are scarcely in the books any more, and Victoria doesn’t use her lawyer knowledge. Beech’s “character arc” was laughable. Here’s hoping the next book reunites the characters’ strengths with a good mystery.
February 14, 2024
The story is set in London in 1915 and follows the work of the Mayfair 100 team. This is a team that had been put together by Chief Inspector Beech early in the First World War and its brief was to undertake the sort of investigations that ordinary policemen could not successfully deal with. Most of the team are women, some of them well-born and living in Mayfair at the home of Lady Maud Winterborne, whose aristocratic connections and willingness to investigate have proved very valuable. The younger women are all pioneers in female emancipation; they include Victoria, who has received legal training although women were not allowed to practice law; Caroline, a doctor; and Mabel a pharmacist who has Forensic and photographic skills, Caroline and Mabel work at the Women’s Hospital in Euston.
As well as Beech, the women are supported by two male police officers, Detective Sergeant Arthur Tollman who is around retirement age and Constable Billy Rigsby. Like Beech, Billy has been invalided out of the army. Often investigations require going undercover in situations in which the ladies would be too conspicuous and there are two quick-witted working-class women who undertake these tasks, Billy’s mother, Elsie, and his aunt, Sissy.
When the Germans execute Edith Cavell for spying, many British people are outraged that they should treat a middle-class nurse in such a way. The women of the Mayfair 100 team are saddened by Nurse Cavell’s death and inclined to share the public’s outrage until Beech points out that anyone who is captured as a spy must expect to suffer the same penalty, whether man or woman, and several of the younger Mayfair 100 women are forced to accept the truth of this and swallow bitter pill of equality.
However, they are all appalled when there are riots in the streets as vicious thugs target women of foreign extraction, most of whom are hard-working citizens whose menfolk have been interned because of their German or Austrian heritage. Tollman and Billy are on duty when a mob attacks the shop belonging to the interned father of Mattie Grunwald, damaging the shop and injuring Mattie. They disperse the mob and rescue Mattie, and Billy takes her to stay with his mother and aunt. Billy and Mattie hit it off immediately and he begins to hope that he has met a girl who is indifferent to his war-scarred face and maimed hand.
The Mayfair team are given a new case to investigate when two women are abducted during a Zeppelin raid and a guard is injured. For some reason the two women had insisted on travelling in the Guards Van with pigeons who were being returned from France because they were unwell. When Caroline and Mabel go to forensically examine the Guards Van they find that the unfortunate pigeons are dead and Mabel’s quick reflexes save them from danger when she detects traces of chloroform. The team work to discover the identity of the two young women, one English and the other foreign, and their current whereabouts. Yet again Elsie and Sissy prove their value to the team as they obtain employment cleaning railway carriages and are instrumental in discovering the identity of one of the missing women.
As the investigation continues the team has to manage without Beech’s guiding hand as he is also involved in investigating a mysterious silver robbery and becomes deeply involved with an alluring and beautiful foreign noblewoman. As the Mayfair 100 teamwork with the River Police they make a disturbing discovery and realise they are involved in the perilous world of spies and military secrets.
A Killing near Waterloo Station is the fifth book in the series featuring the Mayfair 100. It is a superbly researched novel which explores some of the lesser-known aspects of the First World War. The characters are engaging, and the plot is complex and well-constructed. This is a fascinating read, a page turner, which I recommend.
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Reviewer: Carol Westron
For Lizzie Sirett (Mystery People Group)
As well as Beech, the women are supported by two male police officers, Detective Sergeant Arthur Tollman who is around retirement age and Constable Billy Rigsby. Like Beech, Billy has been invalided out of the army. Often investigations require going undercover in situations in which the ladies would be too conspicuous and there are two quick-witted working-class women who undertake these tasks, Billy’s mother, Elsie, and his aunt, Sissy.
When the Germans execute Edith Cavell for spying, many British people are outraged that they should treat a middle-class nurse in such a way. The women of the Mayfair 100 team are saddened by Nurse Cavell’s death and inclined to share the public’s outrage until Beech points out that anyone who is captured as a spy must expect to suffer the same penalty, whether man or woman, and several of the younger Mayfair 100 women are forced to accept the truth of this and swallow bitter pill of equality.
However, they are all appalled when there are riots in the streets as vicious thugs target women of foreign extraction, most of whom are hard-working citizens whose menfolk have been interned because of their German or Austrian heritage. Tollman and Billy are on duty when a mob attacks the shop belonging to the interned father of Mattie Grunwald, damaging the shop and injuring Mattie. They disperse the mob and rescue Mattie, and Billy takes her to stay with his mother and aunt. Billy and Mattie hit it off immediately and he begins to hope that he has met a girl who is indifferent to his war-scarred face and maimed hand.
The Mayfair team are given a new case to investigate when two women are abducted during a Zeppelin raid and a guard is injured. For some reason the two women had insisted on travelling in the Guards Van with pigeons who were being returned from France because they were unwell. When Caroline and Mabel go to forensically examine the Guards Van they find that the unfortunate pigeons are dead and Mabel’s quick reflexes save them from danger when she detects traces of chloroform. The team work to discover the identity of the two young women, one English and the other foreign, and their current whereabouts. Yet again Elsie and Sissy prove their value to the team as they obtain employment cleaning railway carriages and are instrumental in discovering the identity of one of the missing women.
As the investigation continues the team has to manage without Beech’s guiding hand as he is also involved in investigating a mysterious silver robbery and becomes deeply involved with an alluring and beautiful foreign noblewoman. As the Mayfair 100 teamwork with the River Police they make a disturbing discovery and realise they are involved in the perilous world of spies and military secrets.
A Killing near Waterloo Station is the fifth book in the series featuring the Mayfair 100. It is a superbly researched novel which explores some of the lesser-known aspects of the First World War. The characters are engaging, and the plot is complex and well-constructed. This is a fascinating read, a page turner, which I recommend.
------
Reviewer: Carol Westron
For Lizzie Sirett (Mystery People Group)
December 24, 2023
Wonderful addition to a grand series
This is one of my favorite historical series and No.5 does it justice. Set during WWI, a very different team includes women who assist Scotland Yard with unusual cases. Readers are in for a real treat, as Brittney’s exhaustive research brings a rich aura of realism to each page, filled with period-perfect details. There are spies, covert operations, and murder, nicely balanced by hints of romance. A wholly satisfying read~
This is one of my favorite historical series and No.5 does it justice. Set during WWI, a very different team includes women who assist Scotland Yard with unusual cases. Readers are in for a real treat, as Brittney’s exhaustive research brings a rich aura of realism to each page, filled with period-perfect details. There are spies, covert operations, and murder, nicely balanced by hints of romance. A wholly satisfying read~
March 2, 2024
Another cracking good story
It was good to reconnect with the Mayfair 100 team on their adventure. Lynne draws her characters so vividly, you feel as if you know them. My only issue is that (like with too many books lately) the editing and proofreading are less than stellar. Still well worth the read!
It was good to reconnect with the Mayfair 100 team on their adventure. Lynne draws her characters so vividly, you feel as if you know them. My only issue is that (like with too many books lately) the editing and proofreading are less than stellar. Still well worth the read!
March 15, 2024
Great
I just love the Mayfair 100 Crime Series. It has mystery, intrigue, a little romance, and a great deal about England during WW1. The character development is good as each character grows in each of the books, including this one. I
Recommend this series highly to anyone who enjoys a good, clean mystery.
I just love the Mayfair 100 Crime Series. It has mystery, intrigue, a little romance, and a great deal about England during WW1. The character development is good as each character grows in each of the books, including this one. I
Recommend this series highly to anyone who enjoys a good, clean mystery.
June 24, 2025
I’ve greatly enjoyed this series but had a really difficult time remaining engaged in this book. I had to keep coming back to it.
The plot wasn’t as interesting and there wasn’t enough of Caroline, Lady Maud, Victoria, etc. Victoria was barely present and didn’t use any of her skills in this one. She seemed like an afterthought.
Hoping the next one has a quicker, more intriguing plot.
The plot wasn’t as interesting and there wasn’t enough of Caroline, Lady Maud, Victoria, etc. Victoria was barely present and didn’t use any of her skills in this one. She seemed like an afterthought.
Hoping the next one has a quicker, more intriguing plot.
December 30, 2023
A wonderful addition to a terrific series. Very interesting and well rounded characters that develop further with each book. Brittney includes fascinating detail about every aspect of the period so that it is a great learning experience as well as a gripping story. Highly recommend.
July 7, 2024
I really enjoy these mysteries. It's so interesting to learn more about England during WWI and how they may have dealt with the everyday cases that popped up.
August 5, 2024
I have enjoyed this series and Google searches have proven informative. The characters have developed nicely I just hope that this will not be the last.
April 9, 2025
This series needs to be made into a BBC, Brit Box or Acorn show. I’m loving it.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews