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Today I’m welcoming author Kate Parker to Salty Inspirations to share a look at the world behind Deadly Ruse, the newest release in her historical mystery series. Join us for a behind-the-scenes glimpse into life in 1943 and learn more about the setting and inspiration behind this latest mystery.
Life in 1943
It’s the summer of 1943, and Olivia Redmond, the heroine of Deadly Ruse, is again caught up in the espionage plans of Britain’s spymaster, Sir Malcolm Fremantle. On the war front, things are looking up for Britain. The US has entered the war and now their combined forces have defeated the Axis in North Africa. Hundreds of thousands of German troops have been taken prisoner, and many of them have been sent to Britain to sit out the war. Meanwhile, Germany is bogged down in Russia and the Eastern Front is going badly for them.
A special POW camp just for German generals, set up in a mansion at the north edge of London, is a focus of British espionage. Hidden microphones are wired into walls and furniture, inside and out. The goal of the British jailers was to treat their “guests” well so they’d relax and talk among themselves. Then German refugees would listen in to their conversations and learn German military secrets.
Livvy is assigned to teach drawing and English to bored German generals held prisoner at the special camp, Trent Park House, and to attempt to get them talking. However, her little boy, Stevie, is now a year and a half old, and she doesn’t want to have to leave him with her friend Esther and Esther’s household. Stevie loves following Esther’s two young children while watched over by their nanny, but Livvy doesn’t like to let go of his constant presence. Still, there’s a war on, and everyone has to do their bit.
Her husband is in the army, either in North Africa or Palestine, and Livvy misses him. She has this in common with many women in Great Britain at that time. Women were working outside the home in unprecedented numbers, but most of them were living in the area where they worked. Livvy was working a few days a week at the London POW camp and then traveling back to her home with Stevie in the Cotswolds.
This was a problem in two ways. One, travel was slow and crowded. Livvy could take a train from London to Oxford and then take a bus from Oxford to Chipping Ford where Esther and her household had lived since the war began. Petrol was in short supply, cars were seldom seen, and equipment was aging and liable to break down.
Two, housing in London was hard to get, between all the bomb damage and the influx of personnel working in the ever-growing number of government offices. Livvy was lucky she could stay with her father, a Foreign Office higher up whose home in the northwest suburbs of London had been spared bomb damage. However, Livvy and her father had never gotten along well, and this wasn’t improved by the privations of wartime economy. Sir Malcolm ended up finding extra ration coupons for her father to use when Livvy was staying with him so they would both have enough to eat.
Deadly Ruse is an exciting mix of murder and sabotage, but underneath is a study of the wartime conditions a young mother would find herself facing. I hope you enjoy this mystery.
Deadly Ruse by Kate Parker is the fourteenth story in The Deadly Series of historical mysteries. It can be found in e-book and print at all your favorite online retailers.
Deadly Ruse: A World War II Mystery (Deadly Series) by Kate ParkerAbout Deadly Ruse
Deadly Ruse: A World War II Mystery (Deadly Series)
Historical Cozy Mystery
14th in Series
Setting – England
Publisher : JDP Press
Publication date : June 23, 2026
Number of Pages ~300
Digital
ISBN-13 : 979-8993886442
ASIN : B0GYQCS43C
Paperback will be available on the release date.
As the war’s outcome shifts, deception is an art–and survival depends on who’s painting the picture. When British spy Olivia Redmond is summoned again by her elusive spymaster, she’s expecting danger–not an invitation to teach drawing to captured German generals at Trent Park House. But beneath the genteel cover of sketches and civility lies a deadly ruse: the lavish POW mansion is wired for sound, every whispered secret a weapon in Britain’s intelligence war. Among the prisoners is Oberst Bernhard, a conflicted German officer from Livvy’s past. When murder, stolen jewels, and a suspected plot among the prisoners ignite within Trent Park, Livvy must decide whom she can trust–and how far she’ll go to expose a truth wrapped in loyalty and lies. From the candlelit salons of wartime espionage to the shadows of betrayal, Deadly Ruse is a gripping historical mystery where every stroke of trust could be fatal.
About Kate Parker
Kate Parker has long wanted to build a time travel machine. However, after several false starts, she gave up and created time travel by going back in time inside her books. Since she’s fond of murder mysteries, it is probably best that all of her travel is inside books or police from various ages would be hunting her. When not recreating old time buildings and fashions, she can be found with a modern computer and modern air conditioning in North Carolina with her daughter and a 115 lb. puppy who could just crash through any time barrier.
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Thank you to Kate Parker for stopping by Salty Inspirations and sharing a look into the historical backdrop behind Deadly Ruse.
If historical mysteries, wartime intrigue, and immersive settings are your kind of read, consider adding this one to your TBR. And while you’re here, feel free to browse around for more book features, author visits, and cozy reading inspiration.
As always, thanks for stopping by for some Salty Inspirations! —Michelle❤️
