A Rogue's Company

This is the third installment in Allison Montclair's "Sparks and Bainbridge" series and it was equally as entertaining as the previous two (The Right Sort of Man and A Royal Affair). Things have been going well at the Right Sort Marriage Bureau after the monetary reward from the last book and, as a result, a new character has been added, secretary/ receptionist Mrs. Billington. This time around Gwen is the victim of a kidnapping, along with her hostile father-in-law, recently returned from Africa. Lady Bainbridge receives a note demanding ransom and warning not to contact the police. She turns to the only person she knows that she thinks might be able to help--Iris--who leaps into action, calling on her friend Sally and her paramour Archie. A parallel plotline involves Simon Daile, the bureau's first client of color and why he is apparently stalking Gwen. There is also a new romantic twist revealed.

Booklist gushes "It's hard to imagine a wittier, more delightfully daring duo than Sparks and Bainbridge. Yet these women are not fluffy characters. Each struggles, Gwen with the ramifications of a mental breakdown, and Iris with events during her war service that continue to haunt her. Sharply plotted and filled with a robust cast of supporting characters, this is a mystery that both stands on its own and neatly links previous series entries." Publishers Weekly opens their review with this praise "An artfully constructed puzzle and dry humor lift Montclair’s excellent third mystery featuring professional matchmakers and amateur sleuths Iris Sparks and Gwen Bainbridge in post-WWII London..." and concludes "Montclair’s feisty leads continue to develop as psychologically plausible characters. Phryne Fisher devotees will clamor for more."

A Royal Affair

I really like the characters in Allison Monclair's inaugural outing, The Right Sort of Man, so I went after this second book in the "Sparks and Bainbridge" series. I just discovered that Allison Montclair is pseudonym for author Alan Gordon. Hmmm.

Not surprisingly, our two intrepid protagonists are asked to vet a potential suitor for a client--who just happens to be Princess Elizabeth. Well, not exactly the Princess herself is asking; rather, her minions--who intercept the Princess's mail--are asking, because they have received a letter threatening to embarrass the Royals if money is not forthcoming. So once again Iris and Gwen are up to their ears in a highly secret and off the books investigation. And yet every lead they develop is either foiled by the SOE getting there first or, in one case, the murder of the blackmailer--and they're being framed to take the blame. Montclair continues to build on the characters as s/he carries forward a very labyrinthine plot. This book was equally as enjoyable as the first.

Booklist notes that "all is explained in a smart, Agatha Christie--style finale in which friends and foes are gathered to hear who did what and why. One of the series strengths is the focus on the personal lives of Iris and Gwen, both of whom are struggling, Iris with the consequences of her activities during the war, Gwen with battling for custody of her son. Written with flair and lots of snarky humor, this is great fun for British mystery fans."

Library Journal agrees. "Outside the office, Sparks navigates a possible romance with a charming gangster, while Bainbridge focuses on her mental health in order to regain custody of her young son, Ronnie. Pseudonymous author Montclair carefully reveals more about her two main characters, as their friendship strengthens and they learn to balance each other's skills. It's refreshing to see believable female friends in a historical mystery. Montclair doesn't neglect secondary characters either, particularly Sparks's loyal friend Sally and the aforementioned Ronnie...Fans of period mysteries ...will appreciate this gutsy duo." 

And Publishers Weekly calls this a "stellar sequel," going on to conclude "Montclair successfully combines the insightful characterizations of Jacqueline Winspear with the witty banter of Hammett's Nick and Nora Charles. Fans of the British royal family will have fun."

 

The Herd

I was unfamiliar with author Andrea Bartz, for whom this novel is her second outing. The Washington Post reviewer, esteemed Maureen Corrigan, considers it to be the ideal "airplane novel"--if people were still taking airplanes anywhere these days. Corrigan goes on to summarize the plot: "An insular group of well-groomed women becomes drawn into investigating the murder of one of their own, all the while keeping scandalous personal secrets tightly sealed behind their persimmon pink-stained lips." The story gradually unfolds in alternating chapters told by two adoptive sisters; the older (adopted) sister is Hana, a woman of color who is now a successful public relations entrepreneur, and younger sister Katie, a journalist and wannabe book writer. Hana, Mikki, and Eleanorall went to Harvard together and have remained close friends. Katie also became friends with Eleanor and Mikki when Hana jaunted off to Los Angeles right after college. Mikki is a graphic designer and struggling artist. Eleanor first started an ethical line of cosmetics called Gleam and then created the HERD, a membership only club and co-working space for women entrepreneurs. It has become so wildly popular that there is a waiting list to get in, even with the $300 per month membership fee. With success, however, often comes resentment and Eleanor's ventures have generated their own groups of haters, one of which calls itself the Antiherd. A telling aside about the name of the venture is offered by one character who muses, "A herd’s primary purpose is to keep the highest percentage of its members alive. Evolution doesn’t care about the individual, about survival of the least-fit. We team up for the most selfish reason possible: self-preservation." When Eleanor goes missing on the eve of a big announcement about the HERD, everyone is in a panic, and Hana and Katie each set off independently to find out what happened to Eleanor.

The book felt slow to start and I was about half-way through before I really felt compelled to find out whodunnit. The dark secrets of Eleanor, Mikki, Hana, and Katie are hinted at so frequently and with such a heavy hand, that I figuratively had to roll my eyes many times. I would agree with Corrigan that it feels like the characters do not get fully developed and we really only find out what motivates them toward the very end of the book....slow, slow, slow, rush, rush, rush.  However, to be fair, I never saw the resolution coming and once we find out what lies beneath the shiny surfaces of these women, it seems all too plausible. I do think there is a lot of potential meat for discussion here in terms of how women are minimized and perjoratively interpreted in our culture, especially when it comes to business. Additionally, the contrast between who people really are and how they present themselves in social media is dealt with both head on and sideways--which could certainly generate good book group discussion.

Kirkus calls this a "soapy and fun woman-centric thriller."Publishers Weekly lauds it as "a smart, twisty thriller..." The Los Angeles Times says, "A pulpy satire of millennial corporate feminism and a parodic homage to the Wing..."  I had never heard of The Wing and if you read this piece in The New York Times Magazine, it will indeed sound very similar to the setting for this book.