World War II is a popular backdrop for SpecFic because it affords so many possible alternative outcomes to what went down in the history books. Novels like Code Name Verity and The Book Thief are prime examples of colorful, imaginative fiction that could have happened. Author Jo Walton took this a little further, postulating an entirely different outcome to the war in Ha'penny, the second book of a trilogy set in this dark alternate England. In the first book, Farthing, the terms of a terrifying ceasefire between Great Britain and Hitler's mainland Europe are presented to the reader. The "Farthing Peace" ended the war, but under the terms England has begun to change in the shadow of Hitler's ideals. Murder, persecution and political scheming abound, with a wealthy bank heiress and a detective from Scotland Yard at the center of a very tangled government web of crime and cover-ups.
Ha'penny picks up the trail from another direction, following Inspector Carmichael after the Thirkie murder and investigation. He's drawn next into the mystery of an aging theater actress, who along with a young military man was blown up by a bomb in her kitchen. Carmichael has his work cut out for him, sorting through communist conspiracies, plots by Jewish extremists, and other convoluted scenarios, all while feeling pressure from the superiors who know his own personal secret. As Carmichael works the case, actress Viola Lark is shocked to learn that one of her fellow players in the new production of Hamlet has apparently blown herself up in her own kitchen. But perhaps even more surprising is the sudden contact she receives from one of her socialite sisters, part of a life that Viola decided to leave behind when she became an actress. But in meeting her sister, she becomes entangled in a suicidal new plot put together by unlikely allies to take down the corrupt Farthing Set and the fascist government that is turning England into a mirror of Hitler's Europe. It'll be the performance of Viola's life, and will end in either her incarceration or her death, and the destruction of nearly all she holds dear.
This second book of the trilogy preserves Walton's style of alternating between third-person narrative following Inspector Carmichael and first-person from the perspective of Viola Lark. Seeing the way the web of conspiracy is woven by Viola, and the way that Carmichael works to unravel it, is like watching a predator close in on prey. The reader can not only see the creation of decoys, failsafes and cover-ups employed by one party, but also how effectively they throw off their pursuit. By the key moment in the outcome, I was honestly uncertain about who would come out on top.
The innovative world-building continues as well, and the complicated power struggle within England's government progresses as well, at a steady pace with clear ties to the events set in motion in Farthing. Who is in power, and what they do with that power, directly influence Carmichael, Viola, and the investigation that connects them. There are also references to both the Thirkie murder and the Kahn family that assure the reader that these two books are, indeed, connected in more ways than just through characters. These connections, and their ultimate result, is something that I'm sure will be included in the third book in the trilogy, Half a Crown.
If you like intriguing mysteries set in exciting new worlds, and if you enjoy political suspense without too much grit or gore, consider reading Jo Walton's Small Change trilogy: Farthing, Ha'Penny, and Half a Crown. They're creative, they're clever, they're intense, and they're available right now at your favorite independent bookstore.
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