A Rogue’s Company, set in 1946 London, is the third and last Sparks and Bainbridge mystery. Readers will be sad to say farewell to this clever series, which shifts seamlessly from Mayfair to the London docks. Londoners grieve their personal losses post World War II, but they are resilient, embodying the motto “keep calm and carry on.”

Miss Iris Sparks (Cambridge grad and serial fiancée) and Mrs. Gwendolyn Bainbridge (former debutante, widow, related to the Royals) opened The Right Sort Marriage Bureau, in 1946. They hit it off at the wedding of George and Emily Bascombe, where Gwen was the “match-maker,” for the seemingly mismatched couple and Iris, at the behest of the bride, quietly investigated the potential groom. Iris and Gwen were the fairy godmothers for the newlyweds…and what a felicitous encounter, as it resulted in their matchmaking business.

Both personally and professionally, things are going well for the partners: the Right Sort Marriage Bureau is getting on its feet and growing. Iris is working with Dr. Milford, Gwen’s psychiatrist, while Gwen is poised to start martial arts training. On the way to Gwen’s first session, the women reminisce about a pre-war musical.

“I liked Me and My Girl,” said Gwen wistfully as they walked along the Thames. “I thought Lupino Lane was terrifically funny. We saw it in ’37, not long after it opened.”



“We?”



“Ronnie and I, of course,” said Gwen. “One of our earlier dates. What ‘we’ did you think I meant?”



“You just recounted a memory of him without starting to tear up,” observed Iris.



“I did, didn’t I?” exclaimed Gwen in surprise. “I’ll have to tell Dr. Milford. That’s—I was going to say progress, or something. I don’t know if it is.”



“If your goal is to reclaim your life so you can start living it again, then it’s progress,” said Iris.

According to Iris, progress for Gwen also includes “a hot and sweaty experience,” with a disciplined “brutish sort.” Iris is pulling Gwen’s leg a tad: she is describing the proprietor of Macaulay’s Martial Arts. Gwen thanks Iris for the introduction: “Library skills and martial arts,” said Gwen. “That’s what I wanted to learn from you.”

The partners are forced to draw upon all their reserves of intelligence, courage, and sheer bloody-mindedness when out-of-the-blue, Lord Bainbridge, arrives home from an extended business trip to Africa. His first words to Gwendolyn thrust a knife into her heart: “What’s this nonsense about Ronald not attending St. Frideswide’s?” Losing her son to boarding school and Harold’s insults about her business—everything he says and does threaten to upend all Gwen and Iris hold dear. Even Carolyne, his long-suffering wife, has had enough, telling Gwen she wishes she had the courage to confront her bullying husband.

“He has never needed me,” she said. “He has never put me ahead of his business. Not once.”



Then she continued up and went to her rooms.



Silence fell on the Bainbridge House. Not the silence of emptiness, but the silence of people holding their tongues, saying out of sight, not even daring to breathe loudly lest they incur the wrath of the lord of the manor, whose tyranny reigned even when he was no longer present.

Even with her beloved son Ronnie sent away to the same boarding school his late father detested, life goes on for Gwen. As the partners say, “The world must be peopled,” which means taking on new clients and making successful matches. When their secretary, Mrs. Billington, eagerly comes to their office rather than using the intercom, Gwen says, “You’re dying to tell us something. So, tell us.”

“He’s an African!” she whispered excitedly.



“Really?” asked Sparks. “From where, specifically?”



“Nyasaland,” said Mrs. Billington, pointing it out on the form. “That’s one of ours, isn’t it?”



“It is,” said Mrs. Bainbridge. “Very well. Give us a few minutes to review his information, then we’ll buzz you.”

Their potential client is British but unlike their previous clientele, he’s not white. Is it an issue Iris wonders? Gwen thinks so because they “have little experience dealing with people of his culture.” Indeed. The partners interview Mr. Simon Daile (pronounced Dah-ee-lay) and agree to take him on. Their conversation about how best to introduce Mr. Daile to suitable matches leads Iris to remember a time when she was working undercover at the Livingstone Club, an establishment beloved by African ex-pats. It was a very hush-hush, nightmarish, and dehumanizing mission (hence her resolve to work with Dr. Clifford).

A Rogue’s Company is an absorbing and bumpy ride. Lady Bainbridge is compelled to reach out to Iris Sparks for help after her husband and daughter-in-law are kidnapped and held for ransom. Mr. Daile, their latest client, is spotted cutting the shrubs across the street from Bainbridge House. He is a gardener but surely that’s too coincidental. Through her late husband Ronnie, Gwen is a major stockholder in Lord Bainbridge’s Africa-based company. Do all roads lead to Africa? Does Lord Bainbridge have a nefarious reason for wanting to paint Gwen as a hysterical, grief-stricken female, incapable of understanding a company’s financial records? Gwen does keep the records for the Right Sort Marriage Bureau as it happens. All questions are answered in Allison Montclair’s inimitable style. A Rogue’s Company is a tour-de-force, with unforeseen twists and turns, leading to a splendid and unforeseen conclusion.

This is the third in the Sparks & Bainbridge Mystery series, and while you could pick it up on its own I think you'll get more out of it if you have read the other two books in the series.

I adore this whole series, it's cozy mystery but with a side of hilarity and adventure. The dialogue always makes me chuckle too, and anyone who knows me knows that good dialogue in a book is definitely the way to my heart.

Set in 1940s London, Miss Iris Sparks and Mrs Gwendolyn Bainbridge have their own matchmaking business called The Right Sort Marriage Bureau. The only problem is that they keep ending up being thrown into (and solving) all sorts of mysteries that have nothing much to do with matchmaking...murder, kidnapping etc.

In this book we get to see more of their personal and family life too, which really helps you understand some of their perspectives on things. In particular, Gwen is dealing with some toxic family relationships, especially where her father-in-law is concerned.

If you haven't already, I definitely encourage you to pick up this series. You won't regret it!

I read Montclair’s A Rogue’s Company with a relish I did not experience with #2, A Royal Affair, though I obviously loved the series from its début, The Right Sort Of Man. I enjoyed A Rogue’s Company because Montclair (pseudonym for Alan Gordon) returned to giving us more of the characters’ lives and histories. Montclair is not one to write much of his characters’ inner lives, but providing us with more of their motivations and histories made for a better book than his sophomore effort. (Not exactly “sophomore”: let it be said that Gordon wrote tons of mysteries under his real name and A Royal Affair is “sophomore” only for his Montclair persona.)

In A Rogue’s Company, our two match-making amateur detectives, Mrs. Gwen Bainbridge and Miss Iris Sparks, are approached for a match by a Black man. They’re nonplussed because their connections stop at White and English-born, but they’re keen to expand the business and offer services to a diverse clientele. It was a good move on Montclair’s part to create a mystery with some sense of London’s post-WWII diversity, but prejudice and racism are only surface-skimmed. This is crime fiction of the, if not cozy, light variety, well-written, witty, with likeable characters. The back-cover blurb will provide some of the plot details:

In London, 1946, the Right Sort Marriage Bureau is getting on its feet and expanding. Miss Iris Sparks and Mrs. Gwendolyn Bainbridge are making a go of it. That is until Lord Bainbridge—the widowed Gwen’s father-in-law and legal guardian—returns from a business trip to Africa and threatens to undo everything important to her, even sending her six-year-old son away to a boarding school.

But there’s more going on than that. A new client shows up at the agency, one whom Sparks and Bainbridge begin to suspect really has a secret agenda, somehow involving the Bainbridge family. A murder and a subsequent kidnapping sends Sparks to seek help from a dangerous quarter—and now their very survival is at stake.



While the blurb leans to the dramatic, A Rogue’s Company has a flat, matter-of-fact tone with matter-of-fact protagonists. For me, the most dramatic aspect of the novels is Gwen’s struggle with her in-laws to regain custody of her son. To provide some background, not a spoiler because this is evident from the first book, when Gwen’s husband, Ronald, was killed in the war, her grief was so intense her in-laws had her declared incompetent and gained custody of Ronnie Jr. What A Rogue’s Company further reveals to us is what terrible people they are: and yet, one of Montclair’s strengths is how nuanced he creates them. In many ways, odious; in others, understandably flawed and human. Gwen, on the other hand, is a character who carries a wonderful growth arc, becoming stronger with every novel. She remains compassionate and loving, but more confident in her abilities and readings. If it were only for Gwen, I would continue to read the series.

I do love Sparks too with her tainted past and guilty conscience. We don’t learn as much about her as we do Gwen in this latest in the series, but I hope Montclair remedies that. Iris has a Kate-Quinn-Alice-Network-ish past and I’d love to see Montclair dig deeper into her history. What makes the series great, however, are not these two characters individually, but their friendship, kind of stiff-upper-lip English and quipping to hide affection, but steadfast and loyal; their banter is as amusing as any romance protagonists.

Other than his two marvelous protagonists, Montclair navigates several “worlds”: the fading upper crust in the Bainbridges; the post-war, more modern world in Iris; and, in Iris’s boyfriend and his cronies, a gangster world of petty and major crime. When Lord Bainbridge makes his appearance on the scene, we have yet another “world”, that of the beginning of the end of the British Empire and its pernicious colonialism. One of Montclair’s strengths is how he makes the ethos of gangster and colonialist pretty much the same. The gangsters, however, while they’re a lot of fun at times are also cartoonish and not-terribly believable. What is believable is the wit and wisdom of Gwen and Iris, their deep moral sense, their ability to see through to the heart of things, and their love for their work and little Ronnie, who’s as marvelous a little-boy character as I’ve read. I want him firmly in his mother’s custody, drawing narwhals and partaking, at least safely, in the continued adventures of Sparks and Bainbridge, who are truly the “right sort”.

Allison Montclair’s A Rogue’s Company is published by Minotaur Books. It was released in June of this year and may be found at your preferred vendors (if you haven’t read the first two books, I’d start there). I received an e-galley of A Rogue’s Company, via Netgalley, from Minotaur Books, for the purpose of writing this review.

The Right Sort Marriage Bureau is run by partners Iris Sparks and Gwendolyn Bainbridge. Sparks, a former spy, has never been married, and Gwen is a war widow. It’s 1946 and business is just starting to revive. The pair have been successful enough to expand into the office next door and to hire a receptionist.

When the receptionist tells them a client is waiting, and whispers, “He’s African!” it forces Sparks and Gwen to realize, all their clients have been White. Where will they find the right bride for their groom-to-be? Gwen tries to gently explain, it may take longer to find the right woman for him since their candidates are all of English descent. They’re further shocked when he replies, he has no problem with that.

Over the course of the next few days, Gwen sees him in her neighborhood, working as a gardener. Although his work seems to be legitimate, she has the feeling he’s following her.

Gwen had a breakdown when her husband was killed in the war. She was sent to a ‘rest home’ for therapy and to regain her sanity. In the meantime, her in-laws gained guardianship of her young son Ronnie. Her father-in-law put her money and company shares in a trust she can’t access. Most of the time, he’s in Africa looking after mining interests. Until he’s not. Word has come he’s on his way home.

Homecoming does not go according to plan. He’s barely in the house before he announces Ronnie will be sent to boarding school. Gwen has no say in the matter until her psychiatrist says she’s well. Since he and her father-in-law look upon her employment as a sign she’s unstable, Ronnie’s future is in danger.

Sparks has managed to find a man she can get along with. That’s as far as she’ll go talking about feelings, being unable to say the L word. He’s a mobster, but the mobs are organized enough to not cross the line into each other’s business.

When a body is found near her father-in-law’s club, Gwen has to wonder if it’s connected to the deals he’s made.
In the end, who will have the final say on her life and Ronnie’s?

This is book three in the series, all reviewed here. Gwen is a society woman, meant to look decorative and remain dumb. Sparks, a former spy, is more down to earth. Together, they are a force to be reckoned with. With this case, they must confront prejudices they didn’t realize they had. Montclair does it particularly well. Sparks and Gwen are two of my favorite characters. I look forward to their next adventure.

I loved this read! Great setting, atmospheric, tightly plotted mystery, memorable characters, and a story that makes you want a good cup of tea and a scone. Easy recommendation to friends and family.

Allison Montclair continues the Sparks and Bainbridge mysteries in A Rogue's Company. London, 1946, is a dangerous place for the Right Sort Marriage Bureau. Lord Bainbridge returns from Africa and threatens to send his grandson away to a tough private school. Mrs. Bainbridge wants him to go to school locally but she has lost guardianship. Then the two are kidnapped. What is going on? The plot thickens and Lady Bainbridge calls on Sparks to help find them. What a scramble of dodgy characters in the kidnappers and the rescuers. Wonderful complicated plot.

A good next in this series, I enjoy the characters and wit/sense of humor. It was interesting to learn more about the Bainbridge family, The mystery was well done. I am still disappointed that the publisher (I assume) decided to give Alan Gordon a pseudonym.

This is the third book in the Sparks & Bainbridge mystery series. Iris Sparks and Gwen Bainbridge run the Right Sort Marriage Bureau, a matchmaking enterprise in post-WWII London. They also get involved in solving murders on the side. A great plot and interesting characters make this a great read.

They get a new client who isn’t what he seems, and is somehow involved with Gwen’s aristocratic family. The ladies investigate and they risk losing their lives.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Coming into this book, I did not know that this was the third book in a series. And perhaps I would have enjoyed the book more had I read the first two. First, I wasn't a big fan of the cover but I suppose it matched the atmosphere of this historical fiction. I liked the characters well enough. The plot was in line with my expectations and was entertaining to read. I think I will be picking up the first two books and perhaps reread this one.

This is a new to me author and series, and being it's the third book of that series, I did find it initially hard to get into the story. However, I was quickly absorbed by the characters, and the mystery surrounding them.

Sparks & Bainbridge are perfect foils - the former being the more impetuous of the two, while the latter has in innate grace that allows her to fit in just about anywhere. They work very well together, and I found it easy to get caught up on their relationship.

The story is very interesting, although at it's heart it's nothing new, but the different sorts of characters make it feel new and different. I think anyone who enjoys a good mystery will like this book a great deal.

Thanks to St. Martin's for the ARC.
This is the third book in this series about Iris and Gwen, who started a matchmaking business in London after WWII.
Iris's background in the secret service, and Gwen's aristocratic connections always seem to lead them into out-of-the ordinary situations.
I enjoyed this book a lot as the author has gotten a lot more comfortable with the characters, and the writing flows very well. (I liked the other books a lot too, but the characters' backstories interrupted the main plot quite often).
I'm happy that both characters are developing as friends and supporting each other. They are both far from perfect though, which is quite realistic and relatable.
The details of post-war life and the geography of London give the reader a feel of being immersed in the story, the action and the time.
I'd recommend to readers whio like light historical, female leads, and quirky plots.

Very disappointing. When billed as a historical mystery, and the body, which turned out to be inconsequential, doesn’t show up until the middle of the book tends to be a bit misleading. When a preface doesn’t make much sense until the end of the book, and where the author spends more time describing women’s clothing, hair, and interfamily turmoil, than the plight of kidnapped victims, left me wondering what I was doing continuing with this book.

The only thing that kept me turning the pages was the humor, but even that was seldom and far between. I should have listened to my inner voice and given up within the first 100 pages.

Sparks and Bainbridge might be an unlikely pair, with their vastly different upbringing, and their current social standings, but they are business partners (the Right Sort Marriage Bureau) and fast friends. Set in 1946 London, the young women are living in a rapidly changing society, with many appalling old world constraints.

I think this novel benefits from knowing the back story of the first two books in the series, but if you are just beginning, it won’t be any hardship to catch up! In particular, I’m really enjoying watching Gwen come into her own, finding a way to deal with her new life as a widow.

This series gets better and better. Love the fast-paced, witty banter between Iris and Gwendolyn. The author's approach to dealing with grief, loss, and death is so spot on for me. Gwen is really coming into her own with her deductive reasoning skills and is finally realizing she's stronger than she thought. Iris is a good influence on her in that regard. Enjoyed seeing the vulnerable side of Iris as well. Highly recommend.

In 1946 London Miss Iris Sparks and Mrs. Gwendolyn Bainbridge are just beginning to expand their business, the Right Sort Marriage Bureau. It’s going rather well until Gwen’s father-in-law and legal guardian, Lord Bainbridge, returns from an extended trip to Africa and threatens everything she’s been working for, including sending her son to the boarding school her late husband was adamant he not attend.

In the midst of all this, the agency gets a new client who the ladies suspect of having ulterior motives involving the Bainbridge family. With a murder and a kidnapping occurring in rapid succession, Sparks has to seek some dangerous help as their very lives are threatened.

Another well-crafted entry in the Sparks and Bainbridge series! It took a few chapters for me to really become invested in this story, but once the mystery was set up, I didn’t want to put it down. The plotting of this story was very tight, the characters relatable and well fleshed out. My romance loving heart can’t help wanting more from the ladies’ personal relationships, especially as regards Iris’ gangster boyfriend, but with this being an ongoing series, I hold on to hope. I loved that Gwen really began to come into her own in this one and loved her stiff spine in standing up to Lord Bainbridge. This was a well-written read with entertainingly witty banter and I look forward to more installments in the series.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Amazing women!

A new client gives pause to Gwendolyn Bainbridge and Iris Sparks, proprietors of The Right Sort Marriage Bureau. They hadn’t before considered International clients. When Mr. Simon Daile from Nyasaland, Africa approaches them seeking a bride, they realize that they need to provide for clients from outside their narrow focus. It also seems Mr. Daile knows of Gwen’s father-in-law, Lord Harold Bainbridge, and his mining activities. Small world!
Lord Bainbridge comes home early from Africa and Gwen finds herself confronted with her old fears, and new ones as he belligerently takes charge of the household and her hopes for her son Ronnie. Gwen has been fighting to gain back guardianship of her son after having suffered a breakdown upon her husband’s death. The Bainbridges are fighting her on this. Gwen’s place on the Bainbridge Board seems to be one reason.
Then just as Gwen confronts Lord Bainbridge they are both kidnapped. All very dramatic. Particularly when Gwen decides to use some moves she’s learnt at her Defendu (Self Defence) classes.
When Gwen goes missing Iris finds herself asking her man of the moment and underworld boss Archie Spelling for assistance, which puts him under an obligation to some characters he’d rather not be.
Sparks is making headway to some extent in both her drinking and her fears. Her war service certainly left deep and hidden scars.
Lady Carolyne , Gwen’s mother-in-law is still drinking herself under the table in an Oh So refined manner.
Talk about drama and mayhem. Gwen’s reflections are witty and wonderful. But then I choked back a laugh or two when Archie complained about his gang falling over themselves whenever Gwen turns up.
I really enjoy this series, watching Gwen and Iris grow their business, overcome huge obstacles and face their dark fears, is heart warming, despite the tragedies underpinning their individual journeys.

A St. Martin's Press ARC via NetGalley

I’m a big fan of historical mystery so I was happy to pick up the latest A Sparks & Bainbridge Mystery by Allison Montclair. A Rogue’s Company is the third volume of the series and I hate coming into a mystery series in the middle. So, I listened to the first two books in preparation for this one and I’m glad I did! A Rogue’s Company could be read as a standalone but you would miss out on some ongoing mysteries and great character development by not starting at the beginning.

When A Rogue’s Company starts, Iris Sparks and Gwen Bainbridge are enjoying their expanding business, the Right Sort Marriage Bureau, and Gwen is hopeful that she is finally well enough to regain guardianship of her six-year-old son. Robbie Her husband died during the war and in her grief, Gwen was sent (by her in-laws) to a sanatorium. Gwen’s mother-in-law has relaxed a little on the idea of Robbie returning to live with Gwen, but her father-in-law Lord Bainbridge, who has recently returned from a business trip to his mines in Africa, is completely against the idea.

In fact, Lord Bainbridge seems determined to stir up as much trouble at home as possible. He’s dismissive to his wife, cruel towards Gwen, and even mean to Robbie. He is also spending an inordinate amount of time at his club and seems anxious about business affairs. When Gwen suggests that it is time for him to let her vote the shares of Bainbridge Ltd. that her husband left her, Lord Bainbridge dismisses Gwen, going so far as to belittle her in front of the other board members.

At the same time, Iris and Gwen are confronted with a new problem at work - a client, Mr. Daile, who Gwen (with a natural talent for spotting subterfuge) feels is withholding information (at best) or lying to them (at worst). They are also concerned that they will have trouble matching him as he is their first client "of African descent". Gwen and Iris are determined to do their best for Mr. Daile but when Gwen runs into him a few times near Lord Bainbridge’s home, she becomes more suspicious of his true interest in the marriage bureau. Could Mr. Daile’s true interest be with Lord Bainbridge and Bainbridge Ltd.? When another man from Africa is found murdered outside of Lord Bainbridge’s club, Gwen and Iris can’t help but suspect that Lord Bainbridge is somehow connected to Mr. Daile and the murder victim. Then a kidnapping happens and Gwen and Iris need to do everything in their power to foil the kidnappers and keep everyone safe.

A Rogue’s Company reminded me of the best parts of an Agatha Christie novel - great writing with the perfect smattering of clues sprinkled along the way. It also has clever, witty dialogue and a delightful cast. Gwen is something of an aristocrat - she has led a sheltered life and is enjoying her new-found freedom and skills. She’s beautiful and very tall, thus attracting attention (usually unwanted) wherever she goes. She is determined to be the best parent to her child while maintaining some personal independence and satisfaction, and each book shows Gwen gaining confidence and abilities. Iris is more difficult to figure out and I suspect that is deliberate. She was a spy during the war and did what needed doing. As such, she has a lot of demons to silence (and a drinking problem to keep under control), and she is most comfortable when taking risks. The risks in this book include dating a charming gangster and putting herself in harm's way more often than necessary. She is a complicated character and I love how Ms. Montclair gives us a little more of Iris’ background with each book.

There are plenty of supporting characters in A Rogue’s Company. My only complaint with the story is that I wanted to find out what happened to them all – and I didn’t. They’re all well developed and I was surprised at the end that we weren’t given an idea of what was going to happen next for some of them. I understand that a few of the characters’ arcs will continue in future installments of the series but I hated leaving so many questions up in the air.

A Rogue’s Company will be enjoyed by readers of historical mysteries who love daring, fun heroines and the post World War II time period. I will definitely be picking up the next A Sparks & Bainbridge Mystery when it comes out!

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I'm new to this historical mystery series and I enjoyed it enough that I will now go back and catch up. The time is post WWII and the place is London. Iris Sparks and Gwendolyn Bainbridge run a marriage bureau and murder is always in the wings. Gwen is a war widow with a young son who is trying to regain custody of him from her father-in-law. Lord Bainbridge is now a major threat to all that Gwen holds dear. His Lordship is determined to send the boy away to boarding school.
Iris and Gwen have a new client, one who may have ties to the Bainbridge family, ties that involve Africa. It's not long before there is murder and kidnapping and life gets really complicated. From the very dramatic introductory chapter set in Africa to the final page, I was totally engrossed. Historical mysteries this well written are the reason I love the genre. Solid, well developed characters set in well crafted puzzles with just the right touch of humor- this one has it all.
My thanks to the publisher Minotaur Books and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Minotaur Books for a gifted copy of A Rogue's Company by Allison Montclair. All opinions are my own.

Iris Sparks and Gwendolyn Bainbridge are quite the duo in this historical mystery. They are both strong and very likeable characters. Their matchmaking service should be a safe work environment but somehow they find trouble. I don't want to give too much away due to this being a series. It is the third book in the Sparks & Bainbridge Mystery series.

I loved this book and the characters. It worked well as a standalone but I definitely want to read the first two books to see what I've missed so far in the series.

Historical Fiction
Release Date: June 8, 2021

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for access to this arc.

The friendship and bantering relationship between Iris and Gwen is central to this story as each will bring her strengths to solve not one but several crimes and a few mysteries. The book begins with a bit that is carried over from book two. Gwen is serious about improving her defensive skills as she and Iris just keep getting involved with dangerous things and people as they attempt to run their matchmaking business. What Gwen learns and how diligent she is about practicing it will have repercussions later in the story.

Then Lord Bainbridge arrives back in London from (the imagined) country of Nyasaland in Africa where the family business has extensive holdings. Gwen has been dreading this as her father-in-law seems determined to send little Ronnie to the school where generations of Bainbridge men have gone. Another thing Gwen continues to work on is meeting with a therapist as she tries to have herself declared competent enough to regain guardianship of her young son. Iris has also begun having meetings with him to begin to deal with some of the things she experienced as an agent during WWII. I was glad to see that these things were carried over from the previous books.

Soon Baindridge has the entire house and household denizens at sixes and sevens as he bashes about with his agenda, careless of how this affects others. Gwen must use her powers of polite conversation and innate good manners to soothe several people’s ruffled feathers and even finds herself sympathizing with her mother-in-law who resorts to alcoholic therapy to make it through another encounter with her husband. One thing that seems a little “off” to me is Gwen’s vaunted powers of discernment and ability to “read” people which come in a bit too handy at times.

Meanwhile Iris and her (very cliched) East London gangster boyfriend are having a bit of friction in their relationship which only increases when Iris asks Archie for a favor, seemingly unaware (which is odd) of what this could mean to him professionally. Sally’s skills and feelings (one reason why I don’t quite believe how easily Gwen is supposed to “read” people) are also useful.

The sheer number of crimes wrapped in mysteries here is astounding and I found myself losing track of a few of them before they were looped back into the narrative. It’s all skilfully done and ends up making sense but at times I wished I’d had a scorecard for plot threads and people. One of my complaints about the last book was the ridiculous exposition wrap up scene. Here, this is done much better. Yes, there still are some but it’s far more believable and spread out a bit.

Gwen and Iris’s friendship is going strong though they have a bit of tension a time or two which also makes things more believable. They are learning from each other but I was glad to see Iris coming to the conclusion that though she might have been able to live the materially comfortable life that Gwen does, she realizes that this wouldn’t make her happy. Gwen is gaining inner strength and professional confidence and gets to use her newfound powers of deduction. I had to laugh at the end when Archie complains to Iris about how Gwen and Iris turned his gang members into Lost Boys because I found this a bit ridiculous, too.

A new area of post war Britain is added in the person of an immigrant who plays a secondary role in what is driving Lord Bainbridge. Iris and Gwen must examine their feelings about race and the fact that neither had even considered that their agency would be asked to matchmake for any clients other than British/Empire born Whites. The various plot threads made more sense to me in this book unlike the last one that seemed all over the place. Some parts of the book dragged just a bit but then there were a lot of clues that needed to be introduced and discovered.

I do wish that more time had been spent on the matchmaking aspect but I guess that not every book can be centered on that. Seeing more inside the Bainbridge household was interesting and showed the lifestyle of the times but (again) also how post war Britain was changing. As I mentioned, having Archie’s gang get twisted around Gwen’s little finger was silly but on the other hand, she is showing more inner fortitude which is nice. A few bits of Iris’s past were brought up so perhaps the next installment will focus a bit on them. All in all, I had a good time reading this one and liked that I didn’t solve things immediately. B