The Jazz Files by Fiona Veitch Smith

If I can’t be Nancy Drew, please make me Poppy Denby!

I recently finished The Jazz Files by Fiona Veitch Smith, a British writer extraordinaire from Newcastle upon Tyne.  She began her writing career as a journalist; her writing style and insider knowledge are valuable assets.  This first book of a new series introduces us to Poppy Denby, a young twenty something who moves to London to live with her aunt, a paraplegic and suffragette in the 1920s.  Poppy, an aspiring writer,  gets a job as an editorial assistant at the Daily Globe.  She meets photographer Daniel Rokeby about the time newspaper hack Bert Isaacs dies a messy death before submitting his lead story for the morning edition.  Poppy finds his notes, finishes the story and is a sensation, albeit a sensation embroiled in a mystery and a great deal of newspaper politics.

I really enjoyed this series debut, loved Poppy and the other characters, and can’t wait for The Kill Fee, the second novel, to arrive inter-library loan.  There is a nice pace to the Smith’s writing, a fun story, as well as a great period piece.  I see potential for many more Poppy Denby Investigates mysteries.