If Fiona’s going to come out on top, she’s going to have to make the most difficult decision of her life: the choice between her head and her heart. Will Fiona change her tune and clear her nemesis’ name? Or will she do her duty? And just what is she going to do with the pesky Kitty Lane? Not to mention swoon-worthy Archie Somersby. But all the evidence points to his innocence. When her number one suspect turns up dead at the opera and Fredrick Fredricks is caught red-handed, it looks like it’s finally curtains for the notorious spy. Soon Fiona is doing time with a group of suffragettes and investigating America’s most impressive inventor Thomas Edison. Fiona sees something-or someone-thrown overboard, and then she overhears a chemist plotting in German with one of her own countrymen! And the trouble doesn’t stop when they disembark. Is Fiona a spy or a glorified babysitter? From the minute Fiona meets the soprano aboard the RMS Adriatic it’s treble on the high C’s.

Fiona and Clifford are soon on their way, but not before Fiona is saddled with chaperon duties for Captain Hall’s niece. It’s an opportunity the War Office can’t turn down. Notorious spy, Fredrick Fredricks, has invited Fiona to Carnegie Hall to hear a famous soprano. Can Fiona catch a killer and find a decent cup of tea before her mustache wax melts? 1917 New York. Chaos at Carnegie Hall Agatha Christie meets Downton Abbey in the Fiona Figg and Kitty Lane Mystery series opener. Chaos at Carnegie Hall is a warm and cosy murder mystery and historical spy novel with a wonderful narrative style and lead character.

I enjoyed the mix of real and fictional characters and the author’s note at the end unpicks the fact and fiction. There is a lot of historical detail so the author has clearly done a huge amount of research. I loved the personal reflections on the man she loves, the man she despises and the situation of women in 1917. The tone is light hearted and almost chatty. The book is written from Fiona’s first person perspective. Surprisingly, Fiona is convinced of his innocence and investigates in order to free him. A night at the opera halfway through the book hosts the first official murder of the book and her nemesis Fredrick Fredricks is caught holding a smoking gun. Fiona suspects a murder has taken place on board the ship but no one is missing so her fears are dismissed. It is the first book in a new series to feature the author’s already established character, however it is not necessary to have read the earlier books. She becomes embroiled in a murder investigation with possible links to the war… Chaos at Carnegie Hall is an historical spy and murder mystery novel set during the First World War. British intelligence agent Fiona Figg travels to America for a meeting with a notorious spy and to act as chaperone to her boss’s niece.

Fiona figg mysteries in order