The Celluloid Sentry

Lights, camera... murder in Crofter's Green.

Narrated by the brilliant British actress Iona Campbell, whose acclaimed performances have brought Crofter's Green and its beloved residents vividly to life, this latest Homefront Sleuths mystery combines wartime intrigue, clever clues, memorable characters, and the warmth of village life.

June 1942 brings rare excitement to the quiet village of Crofter's Green when the Ministry of Information's Crown Film Unit arrives to shoot a patriotic wartime film. Soon the village is overflowing with actors, cameras, cables, and enough backstage drama to rival anything in the script.

But the glamour fades fast.

When a young Home Guard sentry is found murdered near the ruins of St. Swithun's Abbey—his body wrapped in celluloid film—the Homefront Sleuths discover that the film crew has brought more than movie magic to their peaceful corner of Kent.

The only clues?

A film canister the victim tried to hide.

A scrap of paper covered in code.

And a film set where everyone seems to be acting.

As Evie Harris, Alice Greenleaf, Dorothy Baker, and young Alfie quietly gather clues among suspicious cast members and temperamental crew, Harry Jenkins and Inspector Nigel Brewster begin untangling a web of deception. Meanwhile, Blake Collins and Katherine race to decipher a cryptic message that suggests the chaos on set is no accident.

Because hidden behind the klieg lights is a far more dangerous production.

The deeper the Sleuths dig, the more they fear that the shadowy spymaster Beckett is using the film company as cover for a plot that could cripple Britain's wartime defenses. When Nigel is forced into a dangerous undercover role, the investigation turns suddenly—and painfully—personal.

With trust strained, time running short, and a master of disguise moving among them, can the Sleuths expose the killer before the final scene ends in catastrophe?