Allison Montclair

Once again, Allison Montclair [pseudonym of Alan Gordon] has a winner in the newest Sparks and Bainbridge historical mystery, The Lady from Burma. The various clients who walk through the doors of the Right Sort Marriage Bureau keep readers firmly in tune with post-World War II London and all the types of people who are trying to put their lives back together.

The solutions to the deaths of the client and the conservator certainly kept me guessing, but I was even more interested in Gwen show more Bainbridge's fight to regain legal control of her life. Gwen basically came unglued when her husband was killed in the war, and the depth of her grief caused her husband's aristocratic family to take away custody of her young son and to have her committed to a mental institution. It's been an uphill battle, but it is obvious to all the readers of this series that it's more than time for Gwen to be back in charge. Her relationship with her in-laws has evolved slowly, and she's made the effort to learn how to deal with her income once she has it in her own control. What's maddening is her reaction-- in court and directly afterward-- to the machinations of her conservator. I wanted to give her a little shake and yell, "Snap out of it!" Not that I've fallen under the spell of these characters or anything...

An absorbing mystery, the engrossing lives of the two main characters, a pitch-perfect setting, and witty dialogue that absolutely sparkles. I love this series and hope that it continues for a good long time. If you haven't had the pleasure of meeting Iris Sparks and Gwen Bainbridge, I suggest you begin at the beginning with The Right Sort of Man. These two very different women make quite a formidable team.

(Review copy courtesy of the publisher and Net Galley) show less

When my best friend alerted me to the series of mysteries by Allison Montclair, she did it with a warning not to start until I have time to read, read, read. She wasn’t kidding, I read from the first through the fourth in a weekend. The novels take place shortly after WWII and with the army being demobilized, men are taking their jobs back leaving women who had been activated during the war at loose ends. Iris Sparks is impulsive, intuitive, and full of intrigue about what she did during show more the war. Gwen Bainbridge is methodical, organized, and technically not sane in the eyes of the courts. Grief at her husband’s death led to her commitment to a sanitorium. Her in-law’s have custody of her son and a law firm controls her inheritance. When the two meet, that mysterious alchemy of friendship leads them to start a marriage bureau together. It’s call The Right Sort and they are confident their contrary methods, when they converge on a candidate, will find the right sort for marriage.

Their adventures begin in The Right Sort of Man when a client is indicted for murdering the woman they picked for him. A Royal Affair finds them investigating a potential husband for the Queen. A Rogue’s Company centers on Gwen’s family. Her father-in-law returns from Africa and brought trouble with him. When a woman is murdered in Iris’ apartment in The Unkept Woman she is the obvious suspect. She needs to find out the truth and quickly.

The Sparks & Bainbridge series of historical mysteries is a complete winner for me. These are fair play mysteries that we can solve because we know what Iris and Gwen know. They follow the rules of the Detection Club, though not the stricter rules of S.S. van Dine written in 1928. After al, there are two detectives and a bit of romance as well.

I like Iris and Gwen who are temperamentally polar opposites but have similar values and dedication to justice. I like how they support each other and other women. I like the historical details that add valuable color and context to the stories. I am so far behind on my reading, I am postponing the new release The Lady from Burma until I can read it without guilt. And then in a year, there will be another, Murder at the White Palace. I can hardly wait.

The Right Sort of Man at Minotaur Books | Macmillan
A Royal Affair
A Rogue’s Company
The Unkept Woman
Alan Gordon – author site
Introducing the Real Allison Montclair at Jungle Red

https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2023/08/13/sparks-bainbridge-mysteri... show less

It’s deeply weird to me that Cold War era murder mysteries featuring challenging relationships and deep injustice towards women are my comfort reads right now, but I love these. Gwen and Iris give me hope and power my fierceness. This one was amazing because over the course of it Iris begins to value herself again and that is really uplifting. And Gwen is also coming into herself. It’s a joy to see.

I love this series and am trying very hard not to read all of the books back to back to back. This one, with the return of Lord Bainbridge evoked a great deal of incoherent fury for how he treats Gwen and, really, everyone around him. I am astonished that by they end I felt some empathy for this terrible human, but I also delight in the satisfaction of him being brought low. Not sure about the psychologist -- still can't decide if he's a trustworthy and excellent human, or not. He certainly show more has high standards for mothers and the definition of sanity. Anyway, it kept me up late and early reading and I was so glad to follow their continuing adventures.

I am very annoyed that the trailer at the end of this book is for book 6 -- which I am not ready to read yet, and which will now confuse me when I think I've read the beginning somewhere else before. show less