Available Jan. 1, 2025
Frances and Jack are in London spending some time with his mother. While there, Frances and her mother-in-law stumble across a blackmail scheme at the Athena Club for women. It doesn't take long before not just Frances and Jack are involved trying to nab the blackmailer but family members and associates. Being new to the series, I didn't warm up to the characters immediately but ultimately enjoyed the story. The pace was slow, true, in comparison to most modern day cozy mysteries but, hey, life moved much slower in the 1930's, so that's understandable. Human nature hasn't changed, however, as we discover. Murder soon follows.
My favorite characters, ironically, weren't Frances and Jack. Instead, Uncle Sal quickly won me over with his genius at assuming disguises at the merest suggestion. He obviously didn't come by his stage title of Salvador the Magnificent by accident. Frances seems to have been his occasional assistant, so I'm going to have to play catch-up with the back stories, it seems. Mildred, er, excuse me. Lady Mildred, wasn't a slouch, either. I did learn something, or at least think I did. According to the text, Frances' confusion on British titles was somewhat helped when she discovered that when the title is inherited, the woman is referred to as Lady Mildred. Otherwise, she'd have been known as Lady Clifton if my marriage alone, I must check to verify this as, quite frankly, how British titles works eludes me, too, Frances. Grin. In any case, while the characters don't always seem to be coordinating their ideas for the investigation well....no cell phones in 1930's, remember.... it was fun to see how they worked with what they had, brains and largely Jack's military background. The setting was well described and I grinned at the wonder on spectators' eyes at the idea of a female driver. Yes, definitely a different world.
Bottom line, while I wasn't quite hooked, I did enjoy the story and easily fell into the more relaxed pace while marveling at how times have changed. I definitely liked seeing women being taught self-defense, sadly a need that hasn't vanished. Even the rarity of typewriters was something I'd never really pondered, so that added a new twist to my thinking about that era. Toss in the delay in discovering the identity of a murder victim, possible financial problems at the women's club, and more, and there was much to keep you entertained while learning a bit about life not quite a hundred years ago. Thanks #BookSirens for the early copy. Bet you never imagined it'd help me sort out British titles, did you?
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