While I very much enjoy many different genres of British television shows, like many, British crime dramas are some of my favourites. (But I need the cosy crime dramas, like The Marlow Murder Club.) I was rather excited to see this book pop up on NetGalley, as post-WWII is not a period I typically read a lot about- I am finding that I’m really enjoying reading beyond the periods I normally focus on! This week’s Book Bite is all about The Oxford Guide to Scandal & Lies by Kate Westbury…
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing an ALC in exchange for an honest review.
The Oxford Guide to Scandal & Lies, Kate Westbury (1 Sept 2026)
Oxford, England, 1951 – The Honorable Ginevra Bishop likes red lipstick, clever retorts, and earning top marks in her tutorials. She’s following her mother’s footsteps by studying at Oxford, eager to prove she’s more than a debutante.
Sidney Braithwaite likes brooding, Latin, and ignoring his nightmares. He’s determined to forge a new life for himself at Oxford, far from his childhood mining village and free from memories of the war.
Though Gin and Sidney have little in common, the British Security Service is keen to unite her charm with his espionage experience: there’s a Soviet spy at the university, and the agent tracking them down was poisoned. MI5 wants Gin and Sidney to pick up the trail and identify the informant before more sensitive information is compromised. As a team, the pair of undergraduates clash in personality, upbringing, and taste––but have a connection neither can deny. Gin and Sidney must unite their respective talents to follow the clues before they’re caught in the traitor’s crosshairs…if the sparks flying between them don’t blow up the operation first.
Why You Should Read This…
This is a dual POV novel, spending time with both Gin (Ginevra) and Sidney, both Oxford undergraduates. The pair are working together to root out a Soviet spy, despite having very different approaches, and I think that the dual POV approach certainly helped keep it out of “buddy cop movie” territory.
I don’t read a ton of historical fiction set in the 1950s, so this was a great change for me. I found that the Cold War setting added another layer to both the overall story and the mystery that kept me hooked from start to finish- it felt natural to weave the MI5/spy element in given when and where it was set.
The other element that really stood out for me was the supporting cast of characters. We got to know a lot of Gin and Sidney’s fellow students, and I think that that is one of the benefits of setting your novel at a university. This could otherwise be quite a dark novel but Gin’s friends in particular added a good bit of humour for me.
Ell Potter was also a great choice for narrator. She covered a massive range in both dialects/accents and ages, and I think she really brought everyone to life.
If you want a spy mystery with a little bit of romance in an academic setting, this is a must-read!
♠
Want more historical mysteries? Look no further, these are some of my favourite series!
Have you read The Oxford Guide to Scandal & Lies by Kate Westbury?
Cheers,
The Historian
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