Official Synopsis from Goodreads: The fourth book in what the Globe and Mail has proclaimed “a terrific series” by “a writer to watch.”
Summer descends over the picturesque King’s Cove as Darling and Lane’s mutual affection blossoms. But their respite from solving crime is cut short when a British government official arrives in Nelson to compel Darling to return to England for questioning about the death of a rear gunner under his command in 1943.
In Darling’s absence, Ames oversees the investigation into the suspicious death of a local elderly woman and uncovers a painful betrayal inflicted forty years earlier. Meanwhile, Lane follows Darling to London, where he is charged with murder and faces hanging. While desperately seeking answers, Lane is presented with a proposal that could save the man she loves, but only if she returns to the very life she sought to leave behind.
Genre: Historical mystery
Setting: 1947 British Columbia and London, with flashbacks to the early 1900s and also 1943
***I received a copy of It Begins In Betrayal from the publisher, Touchwood Editions ***
*** this post contains affiliate links ***
Review: Compelling and interesting. Once again the characters really shine! It Begins In Betrayal by Iona Whishaw is the fourth book in the Lane Winslow mystery series. In this entry, we follow our heroine, Lane, as she heads to London to help Inspector Darling who has been arrested for something that happened during World War II. While Lane and Darling are in London, Ames works his first case by himself and tries to solve the murder of an elderly woman.
I really enjoyed both of these mysteries, especially the one Ames was working on, as they flip back and forth in time and deal with motive. What’s interesting in this book is that our three main characters (Lane, Darling, and Ames) are pretty much separated for the majority of the book. Darling has been arrested in London, Lane is trying to sleuth out what happened in that case, and Ames is back in British Columbia working on a completely separate matter.
Keeping our characters separated from each other is a tricky thing for an author to do! Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t, and I’m pleased to say that I thought it worked very well here. The characters are compelling enough on their own to keep the readers interest, while we also eagerly wait for them to come back together so we get that sense of camaraderie that was so evident in the earlier books. This is how you know that characters are special: they work well on the page together, and they work well on the page by themselves.
The mystery aspect of It Begins In Betrayal was great. I enjoyed both of the cases, and thought they were well done. There was a bit of an anti-climactic sense with Darling’s case, as we know this character well and know there was no way that he committed the crime he’s arrested for. Plus, we also get the sense that he’s probably not going to be killed off. And that’s fine, the story is in the how and the journey, not necessarily just the outcome. And that’s the way I like my mysteries, so I really enjoyed this entry and think it’s one of the best of the series. I can’t wait to read A Sorrowful Sanctuary which releases in late September. Since I’ve got an ARC from the publisher, be on the lookout for my review!
Bottom Line: A great mystery read with wonderful characters.
LINKS ***the Amazon link is an affiliate link which means I receive a small commission if you click the link and make a purchase***
Amazon
Goodreads
Author Website
My review of A Killer in King’s Cove (Book One)
My review of Death in A Darkening Mist (Book Two)
My review of An Old, Cold Grave (Book Three)
luvtoread 
I wonder what a shock it would have been to readers if Darling WAS hanged and another male character replaced him in future books! Since these are cozy mysteries, that’s unlikely to happen, but authors of series do get tired of their characters and kill them off. Even Sherlock Holmes was destroyed.
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Yeah, I really didn’t get the feel that she’d kill him off, so I hope that isn’t too much of a spoiler for people… and you are absolutely correct about it never happening in cozy mysteries! I would hope she wouldn’t get tired of her characters after only 4 books…
Can you believe it – I’ve never read any Sherlock Holmes… !! And Agatha Christie killed off Poirot at one point – I’m not that far into those mysteries yet.
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I haven’t read any Holmes either, but it’s a famous death.
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One of these days I need to pick up that series! It’s such a classic!
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