Iris Sparks and Gwendolyn Bainbridge have differing personalities and life experiences, but together they start a business - The Right Sort Marriage Bureau where they match up eligible men and women. When one of their clients is murdered and another charged with the crime, they use their different skill sets and find that together they make a formidable sleuthing team as they dig deep into London's underbelly for the real murderer.
I absolutely loved this book - from its setting to its perfect banter and especially the duo of Iris and Gwen who are sassy, strong, and independent women with a penchant for smart one-liners. They each bring a unique POV, and I liked how Montclair weaves in how the limitations put upon women at that time affect Iris and Gwen's lives. There's also added tension with the slow reveal of the secrets these two women are keeping from the reader (and each other) which also gives us insight into their pasts.
Witty, unforgettable and with formidable characters, this smart mystery is a cut above the rest. I enjoyed being pulled into tumultuous post-WWII London as the city tries to rebuild itself and I loved being surprised with its final reveal. But it is the bond between burgeoning friends Iris and Gwen and the oh-so-clever prose that already have me reaching for the second book in the series.
My Rating: 5 stars
Author: Allison Montclair
Genre: Historical Mystery
Series: #1 in the Sparks and Bainbridge Mystery series
Type and Source: Hardcover from public library
Publisher: Minotaur Books
First Published: June 4, 2019
Opening Line: Tillie climbed the stairs from the Bond
Street Station out to Davies Street, blinking in the afternoon light.
Book Description from GoodReads: First comes love, then comes murder.
In a London slowly recovering from World War II, two very different women join forces to launch a business venture in the heart of Mayfair--The Right Sort Marriage Bureau. Miss Iris Sparks, quick-witted and impulsive, and Mrs. Gwendolyn Bainbridge, practical and widowed with a young son, are determined to achieve some independence and do some good in a rapidly changing world.
But the promising start to their marriage bureau is threatened when their newest client, Tillie La Salle, is found murdered and the man arrested for the crime is the prospective husband they matched her with. While the police are convinced they have their man, Miss Sparks and Mrs. Bainbridge are not. To clear his name--and to rescue their fledging operation's reputation--Sparks and Bainbridge decide to investigate on their own, using the skills and contacts they've each acquired through life and their individual adventures during the recent war.
Little do they know that this will put their very lives at risk.
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