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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A blend of real history and invented mystery, The Killing Code draws you into a fully formed world that is alive with lovable characters. The sapphic romance between Kit and Moya is woven into the deeper narrative and the conclusion is heart-warming and satisfying.
Love myself some gay murder mystery, I need more please oml
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Young girls working as code breakers in 1940s Virginia during WWII. One girl is hiding her true identity, two girls are hiding their romance, one girl is dealing with racism. A smart and delightful group of friends, hunting down a serial killer. Part thriller, part historical fiction.
"And he doesn't work in a male dominated environment. He works with women all the time. He's subordinate to women - and he doesn't like it."
Set in Virginia 1943 when World War II was raging, Kit Sutherland is recruited to help break codes. Arlington Hall was once a girls college but is now a secret US signals intelligence facility. Kit quickly gets caught up in the chaos surrounding government girls being brutally murdered. When she finds a bloody murder scene she knows she needs to find the killer!
Kit joins forces with her code breaker crew, Dottie the gossip, the resourceful Violet and the blunt and whitty Moyra and together they begin to put the pieces together. They know the murderer is close, but they underestimate how close!
This was such a fun read, it has me turning pages right to the very end!
I loved None shall sleep novel and am so excited for the sequel, when I saw this I couldn’t not jump on it and it did not disappoint. For fans of a good girls guide to murder but with a historical twist!
Set in Virginia 1943 when World War II was raging, Kit Sutherland is recruited to help break codes. Arlington Hall was once a girls college but is now a secret US signals intelligence facility. Kit quickly gets caught up in the chaos surrounding government girls being brutally murdered. When she finds a bloody murder scene she knows she needs to find the killer!
Kit joins forces with her code breaker crew, Dottie the gossip, the resourceful Violet and the blunt and whitty Moyra and together they begin to put the pieces together. They know the murderer is close, but they underestimate how close!
This was such a fun read, it has me turning pages right to the very end!
I loved None shall sleep novel and am so excited for the sequel, when I saw this I couldn’t not jump on it and it did not disappoint. For fans of a good girls guide to murder but with a historical twist!
The Killing Code took me a while to read, and after some debate I've rated it a low four stars. I think the concept was good, and I really liked all of the characters. I also found the mystery compelling, and, as was the case with [b:None Shall Sleep|50358134|None Shall Sleep (None Shall Sleep, #1)|Ellie Marney|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1578950493l/50358134._SY75_.jpg|75306832], the suspense was excellent. I think the reason for the "low" four stars was the pacing, but people's mileage may vary.
This was a little boring and around the half way point, very predictable. The last 20 pages had a lot of action but I think maybe historical fiction isn't for me.
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Ellie Marney’s writing will always be one of my favorites. This story was fun, twisty and engaging (so much so that I read it all in one sitting!!) and the characters all have so much depth and personality.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Murder, War
3.5 stars
Content warnings: death, murder, blood, racism, antisemitism, nazi symbols, homophobia, arson and fire, mentions of sexual assault, serial killer, violence against women
Read my full review on my blog!
I know it is bad to romanticize the past. Especially war time. By no means do I want to live through a world war, nor do I think living and working through a world war was easy. Not to mention the fact that the social progress we’ve made over the last 80 years is incredibly important. Things are not perfect now, but we generally have a lot more human rights these days. That all being said, maybe I just wish that we hadn’t developed computers in the rapid way we have. Because I would have loved being a codebreaker.
And sure, I could do cryptography now, but cryptography today looks so different from the cryptography of the past. Really, this is a good thing. Everything is generalized so you attack an entire system rather than decoding single messages. Which is significantly more efficient, but it doesn't have the same puzzle quality to it.
This all too say, I live vicariously through books about codebreaking. And I love mysteries, and historical fiction, and sapphic representation, so I was really excited to hear about The Killing Code.
The mystery was honestly a little disappointing. I figured out who the killer was about 1/3rd of the way through. Plus, they started to use circular logic which irked me. I understand they are all amateurs, but their detective skills were not incredibly good. The lack of common sense from girls who were supposed to be smart was just a bit much for me. So I did not find it to be a particularly suspenseful or puzzling mystery.
Thankfully, there were lots of other things I was able to enjoy. A lot of suspense came from Kit trying to keep her true identity a secret. She hasn’t done anything wrong, but with the strict security of Arlington hall, it could cost her her job. There were also the friendships between all of the girls, and the budding romance between Kit and Moya.
All in all, The Killing Code was a fun and easy read. If you are a mystery aficionado, this is probably not for you. But if you like historical fiction, especially ones with mystery elements or sapphic representation in them, then I would recommend you give The Killing Code a try.
Content warnings: death, murder, blood, racism, antisemitism, nazi symbols, homophobia, arson and fire, mentions of sexual assault, serial killer, violence against women
Read my full review on my blog!
I know it is bad to romanticize the past. Especially war time. By no means do I want to live through a world war, nor do I think living and working through a world war was easy. Not to mention the fact that the social progress we’ve made over the last 80 years is incredibly important. Things are not perfect now, but we generally have a lot more human rights these days. That all being said, maybe I just wish that we hadn’t developed computers in the rapid way we have. Because I would have loved being a codebreaker.
And sure, I could do cryptography now, but cryptography today looks so different from the cryptography of the past. Really, this is a good thing. Everything is generalized so you attack an entire system rather than decoding single messages. Which is significantly more efficient, but it doesn't have the same puzzle quality to it.
This all too say, I live vicariously through books about codebreaking. And I love mysteries, and historical fiction, and sapphic representation, so I was really excited to hear about The Killing Code.
The mystery was honestly a little disappointing. I figured out who the killer was about 1/3rd of the way through. Plus, they started to use circular logic which irked me. I understand they are all amateurs, but their detective skills were not incredibly good. The lack of common sense from girls who were supposed to be smart was just a bit much for me. So I did not find it to be a particularly suspenseful or puzzling mystery.
Thankfully, there were lots of other things I was able to enjoy. A lot of suspense came from Kit trying to keep her true identity a secret. She hasn’t done anything wrong, but with the strict security of Arlington hall, it could cost her her job. There were also the friendships between all of the girls, and the budding romance between Kit and Moya.
All in all, The Killing Code was a fun and easy read. If you are a mystery aficionado, this is probably not for you. But if you like historical fiction, especially ones with mystery elements or sapphic representation in them, then I would recommend you give The Killing Code a try.
Omg!!!! SO GOOD!!! The twists are never seen and totally worth the wait! Can’t wait to read another book of Marney’s!!!
Really enjoyed the tale of these girls filled with moxie.