In post-WWII London, the matchmakers of The Right Sort Marriage Bureau are involved in yet another murder.
In the immediate post-war days of London, two unlikely partners have undertaken an even more unlikely, if necessary, business venture—The Right Sort Marriage Bureau. The two partners are Miss Iris Sparks, a woman with a dangerous—and never discussed—past in British intelligence and Mrs. Gwendolyn Bainbridge, a genteel war widow with a young son entangled in a complicated aristocratic family. Looking to throw a New Year’s Eve soiree for their clients, Sparks and Bainbridge scout an empty building—only to find a body contained in the walls. What they initially assume is a victim of the recent Blitz is uncovered instead to be a murder victim—stabbed several times.
To make matters worse, the owner of the building is Sparks’ beau, Archie Spelling, who has ties to a variety of enterprises on the right and wrong sides of the law, and the main investigator for the police is her ex-fiancée. Gwen, too, is dealing with her own complicated love life, as she tentatively steps back into the dating pool for the first time since her husband’s death. Murder is not something they want to add to their plates, but the murderer may be closer to home than is comfortable, and they must do all they can to protect their clients, their business and themselves.
Dear Allison Montclair,
After the wild ride on a motorcycle that the last book in this series was, I’m not surprised that this one was a bit quieter and slower in pace. Or that it focuses mainly on Iris and her relationship with London gangster Archie Spelling. But it’s Gwen’s plan to have a New Year’s Eve Hopeful Hearts party for the clients of The Right Sort Marriage Bureau that kicks things off.
Having arrived at the plan for their party late in the season, Gwen and Iris discover that all the best/affordable places are already booked. Iris thinks of asking Archie who just happens to have a place he recently bought from the widow of the gangster who ran it before the war. Renovations are currently ongoing. When G & I arrive to check it out, a body is discovered in the basement. That body and the mystery of who it is and why he was murdered over twenty years ago, will fuel the plot.
Gwen’s private life was the main non-mystery part of the last book so now it’s Iris’s turn. She and Archie have been dating only a short time (I keep forgetting that although the first book came out years ago, in the time frame of the S&B series, it’s just been a few months) but (pun intended) the sparks really are flying. Iris has been accepted by Archie’s gang while Gwen is revered by them. Both these things are important over the course of the story.
From the cut of the suit, the body has been in situ for over twenty years and, from the stab wounds, the person was murdered. Gwen notices something that will be important for all people investigating the mystery which of course includes G & I as well as the Met. Yes, of course Mike – Iris’s ex – is assigned to the case and those two hiss and spit at each other before maybe coming to an understanding. With a fresh pair of eyes and less personal involvement, another inspector is added to the mix and I must say I like this guy.
But who is the dead man and why was he killed and left where he was found? The route to closure is long and many clues are needed. I like that as with most of their cases (and these books), the reader is allowed to slowly digest what’s going on and add the clues to their knowledge base along with the investigators. Some things are kinda pointed out as being there as they must be for the clue to even register with readers but it still takes a while before everything is fit together and wrapped up. I had a vague idea of who might be the culprit and was correct but still enjoyed playing along at home and following the bread crumb trail to the ultimate reveal.
I also loved watching Iris “meet the family” at the wedding of the couple whose matchmaking was done by The Right Sort. And Mrs. Sparks finally makes her appearance, allowing us to see where some of Iris’s “take no nonsense” attitude comes from. Seeing Gwen begin to break free and plan her next steps away from the brooding Bainbridge household had me breathing a sigh of relief for her now that she’s officially no longer “insane.” I hope that Iris remembers a bit of information she wrote down while inspecting a house that Gwen plans to buy in Maida Vale. But honestly, I could have done with a lot less snooker and definitely much less description of it.
So good job on moving G & I along in their lives and mingling that with another murder that they solve, albeit with a little help from the Met. B
~Jayne
