Hide and Seek: A Bletchley Park Mystery by Rhian Tracey

I Spy: A Bletchley Park Mystery was one of my top books of 2023 so I was thrilled to find out there was a second book coming in February 2024.

Hide and Seek is a beautifully crafted story of the dangers and hardships faced by those with secrets to keep during the Second World War. Readers are reintroduced to Ned who lives with his parents at Bletchley Park. His father runs the funeral home while his mother spends her days at the brickworks smuggling priceless artwork out of London to somewhere where it will be safe. Ned and his mother have both signed the Official Secrets Act and can’t talk about their work to anyone because “careless talk costs lives.”

In February 1942, Ned and his mother are sent to Wales where she will restore the art hidden in a quarry inside the mountain. Ned is secretly glad to get away from his angry and overpowering father but has no idea what lies ahead. In the village of Manod, he meets a fascinating group of people. Some are more welcoming than others. Mrs Thomas kindly takes them in but her son Harri, tough on the outside but lonely and afraid on the inside, is suspicious of anyone different. There is a young Austrian girl, Anni, living with them as well. As a Jewish refugee, she faces regular anti-semitism and mistrust. And, of course, we musn’t forget Kip – Mrs Thomas’s guide dog. A huge golden retriever, Kip is the best friend in any kind of crisis.

Ned is such a lovely character. Full of kindness and empathy, he sees beyond what people try to present to the public and thinks about what they really need. Intelligent and so intuitive, he is a real asset to his mother and the war effort.

Rhian Tracey provides readers with wonderfully detailed descriptions of Welsh life during the 1940s. The reality of rationing and the creativity necessary to make recipes work is clear as Ned experiences cawl, welsh rarebit and other typical dishes. Mrs Thomas provides a cosy home for them all despite her vision loss and her worry about her husband at war. Ned falls in love with the peacefulness of the mountain and all the different shades of green he never realised existed.

Hide and Seek reveals so many issues faced by those on the home front during the war. The children are enthralled by news of US allies with the glamour of the American GI heroes as well as reports that Princess Elizabeth is joining the war effort. However, the true heroes of the war in this small Welsh village are the women who keep the nation running. The strength of women is celebrated throughout the story with Ned’s mother standing up to her husband to leave and do her part to save the nation’s treasures, the inclusion of Miriam Rothschild (the first woman to serve on the Committee for Conservation of the National Trust and the first woman to become a trustee of the British Museum), Ned’s choice for Picture of the Month in artist Lily Delissa Joseph (a Jewish suffragette), and the focus on Welsh artist Gwen John who becomes a symbol of the power and independence of Welsh women.

The wartime setting and focus on great paintings provides teachers with unique opportunities to make links with history and art. Van Dyck, Rembrandt, Turner and so many more will spark readers’ interest, encouraging them to find out what these paintings look like and why they are so special. It’s inspiring to see how Ned’s mother teaches the people of Manod to appreciate the paintings, see the details, and make links to their own lives. A connection with music makes it even more powerful.

On top of all this, Hide and Seek is a brilliant adventure story. Ned and Harri know they must take a huge risk to help his mother and protect a priceless painting. With Kip by their side, the set off on a dangerous journey where they can trust no one. Anyone could be a spy just waiting to find out their secrets!

Thank you to Piccadilly Press and NetGalleyUK for an early read of this fantastic book!

You can read my review of I Spy: A Bletchley Park Mystery below:

I, Spy: A Bletchley Park Mystery by Rhian Tracey

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