Worried about her future, a young woman has been unexpectedly given a chance at a new life. After only a few hours into it, Kit Sutherland is suddenly offered another.

She never planned it, but has become a key member in a US Army codebreaker group. Kit is only one of dozens of girls who work in a secret intelligence centre housed in Arlington Hall – a school taken over by the war office. This is nothing like the other work she used to do in this school.

Every girl works shifts set through the day or into the night, trying to crack the number codes used by enemy forces. Every girl knows how important their work is – each code cracked could save American soldier’s lives in this endless war. It’s 1943, and there seems to be no end in sight.

But there is time to play too, and many of the girls enjoy going to dances put on in nearby towns. Kit’s room mate Dottie loves to dance and flirt with the few men that attend the dances, but Kit avoids crowds whenever she can. She doesn’t want to tempt fate.

When Dottie is late home one night, Kit is worried and organises to search for her. They find much more than they’re looking for, shocking their entire complex. A girl has been brutally murdered. Kit can’t let it go, the image of what she saw never leaving her mind. Along with Dottie, Violet – a black girl from the segregated section of codebreakers, and Kit’s supervisor (named Moya) – they decide to investigate.

These four young woman, using the contacts they have outside Arlington Hall, their code cracking skills, and combined courage, get closer and closer to someone who has killed more girls since Dottie was late, that fateful night. They know he/she is targeting government girls just like them, but they refuse to give up on tracking them down.

Romances rise along the way, both hidden and happy, but are they all safe rendezvous? Kit still has her secret too – which could wreak havoc with all of their lives if discovered.

The Killing Code takes you back to 1943, Virginia USA, when women code cracker units were hard at work trying to save lives. Protected by a gated and guarded compound which is an ex girl’s school, four women are brought together by their work and a brutal murder.

These women are clever, single minded in their determination to solve this murder and prevent more, and they apply their code cracking smarts to build a profile of the murderer.

I especially enjoyed another thread which weaves among the intrigue. One of the girls has a secret that could throw her in prison, and all of her friends too. I was holding my breath more than once when I thought her secret had been discovered.

A love story between Kit and her supervisor Moya is also kept under wraps due to the times, and racism is highlighted within the code breaker barracks. Violet – kind, street savvy, highly intelligent and black must explain more than once why a taxi won’t stop for their group or why they receive strange looks when out and about together.

Clothing and surroundings are described throughout the story, helping readers picture the scenes even more clearly, and to emphasise the attractions between characters.

The Killing Code is a fantastic snapshot of 1943, and an important time in women’s history and their intelligence skills in the Second World War.

An enjoyable read.

Author – Ellie Marney

Age – 13+

(2022, Allen &Unwin, Murder, Crime, Historical, Action, Betrayal, Courage, Racism, Friendship, Love, Romance, Secret, Code Crackers, War, WWII, World War 2, Second World War, 1943, 1940’s, Virginia, USA, Enigma, LGBTQ+)