Guarded Ground

The Becky and Flynn Mystery Series, Book 1

By: Anna Elliott

Narrated by: Iona Campbell

Two favorite characters, Two hearts to guard. One deadly traitor to unmask.

The Western Front, 1915. It's been 20 years since Becky and Flynn first met, in the adventures recorded in the Sherlock and Lucy Mystery Series. Now they're fighting for England in the Great War. But they still have an incomparable ally in the great detective himself.

Becky is now a surgeon at a French field hospital near the western front. When a badly wounded man gazes up at her from his stretcher, Becky's heart races as she recognizes her former partner in investigation. Flynn is now a major, and barely conscious, but he's just as gritty and stubborn as he was when Becky knew him as one of Mr. Holmes's Irregulars. Becky must save him and then protect his wounds as he recovers. With Flynn, of course, quiet convalescence is not in the program. Especially when Mr. Holmes appears to ask for their help catching a German spy, and the bombs begin to drop.

A fast-paced and thrilling Sherlockian spin-off, with unexpected twists and turns, two strong and memorable heroes, and a touch of romance. Guarded Ground stays faithful to the spirit of the beloved original series, while introducing more intriguing relationship dynamics.

The first installment in an exciting new series.

©2021 Anna Elliott (P)2023 Charles Veley and Anna Elliott

Grown up Flinn and Becky

What a great start to a gentle and well-written series! I have read and watched how the characters have changed and evolved throughout the years and historical circumstances. Good English, good grammar and a deep insight into time and place are much appreciated. Many thanks for the effort and care given!

Very good, but…

Good story. However, I did find myself wondering about few historical details. As a nurse I find it hard to believe that a nurse would examine a hand wound at night, find red streaks moving up arm, and casually wait until morning to report it to the doctor. Later we are told Becky smells evidence of gangrene on that same arm but seems to have had concerns that it hadn’t been noticed sooner, I’ve smelled gangrene, a simple dressing covering it would not contain that smell. Amputation would have occurred long before this man died of something else, as he indeed did. There are some concerns about use of airplanes…I found out that yes, planes did drop bombs at that time, but the nighttime raids seem more fitting for a WW2 scenario. Also about horses. Flynn mentions that horses were no longer used in battle, which I believe is true, but horses would have been used extensively for just about any other purpose.
This was a short story—time could have been taken to explain these issues to help flesh out the historical accuracy.

There was little understanding of the limited use of aircraft during WWI and horses were still used during the war

I didn’t like the historical inaccuracy that was so heavily relied upon by the author. It made an otherwise well written story too hard to swallow.