"The Killing Code" by Ellie Marney

THIS YA HISTORICAL FICTION tells the story of Kit, who is recruited by the U.S. Signals Intelligence agency in 1943 to use maths and patterns to decode intercepted enemy messages.

When government girls are brutally murdered, she is drawn into the hunt for the serial killer. Also working on the case are fellow codebreakers Dottie, Moya and Violet, and their friendships blossomed.

Readers are brought into their inner circle, aided by the author's meticulous research on everything American in the 1940s. There is also considerable emphasis on the inner workings of the Army and its wartime intelligence work.

But the most noteworthy part of the novel is how Kit and her cohort apply their code-breaking skills and insights to solving the crime. These are the fundamental steps of psychological profiling, gathering, deciphering and analysing data in order to identify the behavioural patterns and psychological characteristics of the killer.

This is a smart book in its gentle way of tackling difficult issues such as war, crime and punishment, racism and segregation, and women's rights. Subtly and effectively, it casts light on the many types of injustice in our society, while celebrating the good and the beautiful in our daily lives.