Another great entry in this series centered on two women finding their way in post-WWII London. Gwen and Iris are again trying to balance their business venture, their tendency to get involved in murder cases, and their complicated personal lives. This book has movement along all three fronts alongside the strong dialogue and emotional connection the series always offers. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy. All views are entirely my own and offered voluntarily.

It’s post-war time and Iris and Gwen’s marriage bureau is going well. In London, there are more women than men and a relaxation of class status. Iris and Gwen are the Match.com of the ‘40s. As a treat for their clients and to celebrate their business success, they plan a huge party for all their clients. Some will meet as their first dates there, and others will be examples of successful matches. The party will take place on New Year’s Eve, midnight kissing encouraged. The only problem is finding a venue.

During the bombings, buildings were damaged. Now there’s a shortage of materials for repairs.
Iris has been seeing Archie, a local “entrepreneur” also known as a mobster. Gwen, widowed during the war, now free of her in-law’s supervision (of her money and child), is thinking of dating too.
Luckily, Archie has recently purchased the White Palace, a night club large enough for the party. It just needs a few repairs—like wallpaper stripped, plaster repaired, painted, floors refinished…and a basement wall shored up. The party is in jeopardy when the wall collapses, and a mummified body is found inside.
Good news for the party, the body is old enough to make it a truly cold case so the party can go on. Bad news, the police suspect Archie for most anything and everything, including this.

Just as London is changing and recovering after the war, so are Iris and Gwen, each willing to take chances they would never have done before—including solving murders.

Iris and Gwen are great friends and business partners, each with specialized talents. Gwen knows the society rules. Iris, a former spy, knows everything else. If you ever found yourself in a tight spot, they’d be your go-to people.

This is book six in the series. If you’re the type who says, “I don’t read historicals”, read this one anyway. It’s a tale of friendship, resiliency, and crime. I didn’t catch on to the solution until Iris and Gwen presented it, not a clue beforehand. I can’t say that about many mysteries.

What a delightful historical mystery! Even though this is the sixth book in the Sparks & Bainbridge series, and I haven't read the other books, there is plenty of context and background information given that this was a very easy read as a standalone novel. I love reading about women breaking stereotypes, and Iris Sparks and Gwen Bainbridge are two very admirable and gutsy women doing just that! I really enjoyed this book and definitely want to read the rest of the series. Can’t wait to see what these characters eat up to next as well.

This was such a fun cozy mystery! I enjoyed the mystery in this book but I am sure I would have loved it even more if I had the previous books before this one! I enjoyed what I was able to learned about the characters from this book too! Overall a great historical mystery book that I definitely recommend reading!

The Right Sort Marriage Bureau, is, surprisingly, a bonafide success. It was by no means guaranteed that in the aftermath of World War II, a female-helmed marriage bureau would get off the ground, particularly one whose watchword was: “The world must be peopled!” But odd-women-out partners Mrs. Gwendolyn Bainbridge (wealthy widow and former-debutant) and Miss Iris Sparks (Oxbridge educated, with a hush-hush war history) have an enviable track record of steering clients into meant-to-be marriages. Their future is bright indeed.

To celebrate their past successes and encourage the would-be-suitors on their roster to meet and marry, Gwen and Iris decide to throw a New Year’s Eve dance…a “hopeful hearts ball.” They are starting a bit late in the year—by late November 1946, most London party places have been unavailable for months. What about the White Palace? It’s one of Archie Spellings’ buildings (Archie being Iris’s raffish, gang-leader beau) so Iris pulls some strings and goes to see it, with Gwen by her side. The distressed building is undergoing renovations. When they’re on site, who should Gwen encounter but the studly carpenter who “got away,” Des Burton. While Gwen pokes about, she and Des are faced with a wall that unexpectedly collapses right in front of them. Adding to Gwen’s distress, there’s a hand in the rubble. There’s a ring on the hand with military insignia, possibly Great War vintage.

Friends being friends, Iris twits her on encountering Des. Gwen demurs, “Imagine my surprise.”

“I’m imagining any number of things,” said Iris with a grin. “It must have been quite the reunion.”



“It was awkward, but nothing actually happened,” said Gwen.



“Enough happened to shatter brick walls and raise the dead,” said Iris.



“The fellow is still dead,” said Gwen. “Nothing miraculous occurred. Quite the opposite in fact.”



“Still, the chances of a man you’ve fancied appearing the unlikeliest of circumstances suggests the intervention of Cupid. Or Eros, to invoke his more interesting incarnation. Why, it would be like Mike Kinsey walking through the door—”



Then Mike Kinsey walked through the door, another policeman trailing him. He stopped short as he caught sight of them.

Of all the gin joints—what’s Iris’s former fiancé, the now-married Detective Superintendent Mike Kinsey doing at the White Palace? Investigating the body found in the rubble is what Mike’s team is doing. Of course, former is the accurate adjective—Iris and Archie’s relationship is going from strength to strength. They’re exclusive, committed, and very much intertwined. While driving away from a somewhat awkward dinner with Iris and her mother, Archie hands Iris a “small, flat box with a ribbon tied around it.” Iris tells him, “Small boxes unnerve me,” but she opens it and finds a bronze key inside. It’s a key to Archie’s house, “a white cottage set back twenty feet from a low brick wall.” Archie lives in a meticulously decorated home in a good neighborhood. Iris looks around in amazement.

A collection of framed photographs hung from the walls—holiday snaps; school pictures; men in uniform; and in the centre, in a large oval frame, a young couple standing in front of an altar, the bride in a simple white frock but with a delicate veil clinging to her hair, the groom in his Sunday best, beaming at the camera like he had just won the Derby.



“Your parents,” she said, drawn to it.

Iris is nothing if not an acute observer. This is a different Archie—he’s invited her into his inner sanctum. The brass key shows her how much she means to him. Iris’s loyalty towards those who matter deeply to her in unequaled. It’s clear that she trusts Archie and sees him as a man of honor.

Her loyalty is soon tested. Mike Kinsey tells Iris that “someone cleaned out the crime scene while everyone was asleep.” Everything, including the dead man’s ring, is gone. When Mike interviews Iris, he criticizes Archie and his way of life but thankfully, ends by saying the White Palace “can continue with its restoration.” It’s back to party planning for Gwen and Iris … but Iris can’t stop thinking about Mike and what they discussed, “the things she said.”

But, more importantly, the detail she had omitted out of loyalty to Archie.



That the three men in the picture from after the Great War were wearing rings that looked like the one stolen from the dead man.

It’s not that the owners of the Right Sort Marriage Bureau are not adept and experienced at solving murders. They are. But the murder at the White Palace is seemingly “closer to home than is comfortable,” something that becomes perilously clear when Archie is shot at a family wedding, with Iris sitting beside him. While Archie fights for his life at the hospital, Gwen and Iris methodically, meticulously unspool the mystery of the dead man and how his death is connected to the living, decades later.

The Sparks & Bainbridge Mysteries never disappoint but the sixth mystery is superlative, with its focus on the personal lives of the two protagonists. Allison Montclair, the 7th mystery can’t come soon enough!

This is 6th in Allison Montclair's highly entertaining series starring an odd couple of PIs in post-WW II London. Genteel young widow Gwendolyn Bainbridge and ex-intelligence officer Iris Sparks, run The Right Sort Marriage Bureau, but somehow always end up with murders to investigate.

Gearing up for the 1946 holiday season, Gwen and Iris plan a New Year's Eve event for their clients. Iris's gangster lover Archie offers a club he's acquired that's under renovation, the White Palace. Said renovation exposes a stabbed body.

Of course, Gwen and Iris investigate this and a colder case, and intervene to prevent a gang war along the way. The violence escalates, but they get their man, and soon the festivities commence. The episode ends on a cliffhanger, leaving fans anxious for more.

Murder at the White Palace by Allison Montclair is the 6th book in the Sparks & Bainbridge Mystery series. I am embarrassed to say that I once again requested a book in a series that I have never read. In this case, like many others, I jumped in head first and read it and it worked out for me. I really enjoyed reading this book and plan to go back and read the ones that came before!

I really enjoyed both the main characters. They were fun, adventurous, frustratingly real, and had great arcs throughout this novel. I was able to make sense of the storyline even though I knew nothing from the previous 5 books. The writing kept me engaged and on the edge of my seat.

As someone who reads a lot of cozy mysteries, there was a lot of character development in this one and not as much mystery. The mystery, though it appears in the summary as a major plot point, is really a subplot to the character arcs of Sparks and Bainbridge, though this didn't, always, bother me, I do with there was more mystery. I also wish the full mystery had come out prior to being 100 pages in.

Overall, this was a very engaging and suspenseful read. I will be requesting book one on Libby and reading the previous five books. I look forward to book 7!

Read if you enjoy:
🔎cozy mystery
🔎strong women
🔎dicey relationships
🔎post WWII
🔎Gang stories

This book had an interesting plot and was in a way an easy read. It was conversational and had a lot of dialogue that made the story flow easier, but it also had "gang member talk," which in my opinion was hard to read. I liked the plot, but I found this book difficult for me to connect with. I wasn't overly attached to any of the characters. This was a nice attempt of a book, but it didn't hit the mark for me.

Murder at the White Palace by

Allison Montclair

In post World War II, London, the matchmakers of The Right Marriage bureau are involved in yet another murder .

This sounded very interesting and I requested the ebook from Netgalley.

I had planned to read this sooner than later, but other books got in the way 😀

This was a great read. I love the different characters and the whole London setting.

This is number six in the Sparks and Bainbridge series , however, I didn’t feel that I had to read the previous books to enjoy this one.

I recommend this if you’re looking for a nice cosy mystery .

This was my least favorite of all the Sparks & Bainbridge books. The “whodunit” part was, I’m not going to say obvious, but it was close. I missed the witty banter that usually characterizes the series. Sparks suddenly becoming all soft and mushy was a turn-off for me. I enjoyed her strength and no-nonsense approach to life, so seeing her get gushy didn’t appeal to me at all.

However, I did enjoy that Bainbridge has grown a backbone. She was able to keep her cool and play a player without the reader being two steps ahead. This development in her character was refreshing and added a new layer to the story.

I have to admit here I was dreading this book; book 5 introduced a new narrator and I was very much not a fan and it really affected the overall story for me. I was therefore was pleasantly surprised that I settled in with the narration more quickly than I had expected to [indeed, the narration was better, as if the narrator too had settled in and was way more comfortable with the characters than in the previous book], and while I am not TOTALLY sold on this narration [some of the voices are just...wrong], it was much better and I enjoyed this book much more than #5.

I say enjoy, but that may be the wrong word, because this was a real nail biter [especially at the end] and it was also deeply sad [there are no happy endings here], and I was left bereft and wanting book #7 [and also hoping that there was actually GOING to be a book 7! Thankfully, there is. Hallelughiah. It releases 2.4.2025!!! YAY!!!] immediately!!

At one point when all the crazy was going down [and the crazy is full speed ahead in this one and makes you take a deep deep breath in case you can't breathe again before the end - thankfully you can LOL], I said to myself, "Self, what if it is *THIS PERSON*", and then laughed because it was just so absurd, until it wasn't and I was left shocked, surprised, and very saddened, especially when the why comes out. Such a crazy story and it shows just how debilitating and all-encompassing bitterness and vengeance can be. Also, if someone tells you what you need to move forward in a relationship with them, don't wait until 12:01am to act on it. IYKYK. ;-)

While I am sure you can read this as a standalone, I don't really recommend it only because you'll be lost pretty quickly with this huge cast of characters [many that have been around since book 1] and their backstories - it is very beneficial to start at the beginning and learn all about them that way - the impact of this story will be much greater that way. Just my two cents.

This was the best of the series, even with all the sadness and by the end, I was so very glad I had not given up on this series and had read this one. Well done!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Allison Montclair, and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

At the open of this instalment, both women are at an interesting point in their lives. Gwendolyn has her legal independence, and wants to move on with her life, as in, find a place to live for her and Ronny, and begin dating. Iris has been seeing Archie Spelling for a while, and though she resists putting labels on their relationship, he seems to be moving in that direction. Iris has also decided that it's time that Archie meets her formidable mother.

The pair also want to continue to grow their business, and come up with the idea of a New Year’s Eve dance for all their clients. To do so will need a large venue, and Archie has recently purchased one, known as the White Palace, and is renovating it.

Gwen gets two surprises when she and Iris scope out the location:Des, whom Gwen had had a crush on (book one),is helping Archie with the construction, and the pair find a dead body concealed behind a wall.

Needless to say, there’s a mystery here, as there are details about the unknown dead man that point to Archie’s and Des’ fathers’ wartime then criminal past.

Gwen is not eager to delve, as she’s just recently been cleared by the Court of Lunacy, but Iris moves forward, particularly as Archie is involved. But it's not long before Gwen begins wholeheartedly investigating, particularly as multiple tragedies occur, but she's also there to make sure Iris does nothing too rash in pursuit of whomever attempted to kill Archie.

Author Allison Montclair creates another compelling narrative in post-war London, as he takes us from the Right Sort office to a tony neighbourhood, to a wedding celebration, and to a dodgy snooker club. The stories in this series tend to be well-paced with plenty of humour and snappy dialogue thrown in, but this novel seemed to have even more urgency as the two women rush to reveal the connections between Archie's past and present.

And though the case is wrapped up, there are still things left open, but at least we get a party and some hope for a better New Year for the partners. I sincerely hope we won't have to wait too long for the next instalment as this one was fantastic, and I have to know what happens next.

Thank you to Netgalley and to St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for my review.

Right Sort Marriage Bureau—more hijinks!

Well this series is taking an interesting direction. Post war London, and Gwendolyn Bainbridge and Iris Sparks, proprietors of the very successful Right Sort Marriage Bureau decide to hold a New Year’s Eve party for their clients. Gwen has just been declared no longer in need of supervision according to the Court of Lunacy (if you haven’t read previous titles in the series you must to catch up on Gwen’s heartbreaking story). It’s more than time to celebrate!
Archie Spelling (head of the Spelling gang and Iris’s boyfriend) provides the venue, The White Palace, a place he’s recently bought and that he’s restoring. Archie has big plans. The Palace used to belong to Frank Reese another gangster. Archie bought it from his widow, Vanessa. Of course there’s history—of the gangland robbery and violence type. However, no-one was prepared for a body to turn up, least of all Archie, a body that’s been walled up for some years.
Archie’s in the clear but as things unfold he is connected. The situation become somewhat dicey and the New Year’s event hits a few roadblocks.
Another fabulous read from Montclair!
And yes, the way things end has me poised impatiently for the next book.

A St. Martin’s Press ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

This delightful series continues with Gwen, finally out from under the supervision of the Court of Lunacy, and Iris, becoming more comfortable with the life she has chosen. The two proprietors of "The Right Sort" marriage bureau are finally finding their footing after the very difficult war years. At every turn, fascinating new aspects of the women's characters are revealed. Set against a dreary, but interesting historical period, this is a series to be savored from start to finish.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book! The sixth installment of the Right Sort mystery series finds Sparks and Bainbridge planning a New Year's Gala for their single clients. However, a body found at the party venue interrupts their matchmaking business, and they are thrown back into solving crime. Regular readers will enjoy the personal developments in the lives of the main characters. Those missing Maisie Dobbs or even Ruth Galloway should start at the beginning of this series: they are fun, engaging reads.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.
This is the 6th book in a series, and while it's a good book, most readers will enjoy it a lot more with the background of the previous entries.
Good solid post-WWII era (London, UK) historical mystery, set in London, strong female protagonists.
5 out of 5

Sparks and Bainbridge have worked hard to make their matchmaking business succeed in a London just starting to recover from WWII. It's great to see them developing as friends and independent women, and to share the details of their everyday lives. The author excels at writing in a way that the reader can feel the texture of things, and see clearly through the characters' eyes. I really enjoy that there are 2 main POVs, and that each character is so distinct.

The agency wants to arrange a New Year's party for its clients, and Sparks' gangster boyfriend has just the place...until a body is found when they're cleaning up for the party. Was it murder? How much more 'interfering' will the police put up with? Will the party go ahead?

This series is a delight, I never know what will happen, but I'm always happy to go for the ride.

Title: Murder at the White Palace (Sparks & Bainbridge Mystery #6)
Author: Allison Montclair
Length: 320 pages
Format: ebook arc
Pub Date: July 30, 2024
Genre: Cozy Mystery, Historical Fiction
Rating Out of 5: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Spice Level: closed door
Summary:
In post-WWII London, The Right Sort Marriage Bureau's matchmakers, Miss Iris Sparks and Mrs. Gwendolyn Bainbridge, find themselves entangled in another murder. While planning a New Year’s Eve event, they discover a body hidden in a building owned by Sparks’ beau, Archie. As they delve deeper, they realize the victim was murdered, not a Blitz casualty, and the case becomes personal. The duo must solve the mystery to protect their clients, business, and themselves.

Thoughts:
I’ll be honest. I had no idea this was a series when I requested this arc, so I have not read the previous 5 Sparks & Bainbridge Mysteries. That ended up not really mattering anyway because this was such a quick, enjoyable, cozyish mystery read that could easily be read as a standalone (with the exception of us being left on a cliffhanger). I instantly fell in love with Iris and Gwen. This is a weird comparison, but they reminded me of the geese from The Aristocats. I don’t know how to elaborate on that or explain it so just take it as it is. They’re just two best friends that are constantly there for one another, but they’ve got such feisty attitudes. I really do want to go back and read the first 5 of these now. Just a fair warning, there’s Iris’s POV and also Gwen’s POV, but the only distinguisher between the two is a hard return to another paragraph. Read if you love cozy mysteries, stories set in London, stories set in 1940s, strong female main characters, London gangs, and snooker!

Special thanks to the @netgalley and @minotaur_books for the arc in exchange for my honest review!

The success of this mystery series is due to the friendship between Iris Sparks and Gwen Bainbridge, owners of the Right Sort Marriage Bureau. It’s 1946, and the scarcities of the war are lessening as Iris and Gwen plan a New Year’s Eve Party. When a body is discovered at the proposed venue, the race to solve the murder begins. There are twists and some surprises. Recommended. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

First things First. This is the sixth book in a mystery series begun in 2019 and I missed the memo. That meant that when I started Murder at the White Palace, I found the beginning slow as I had to do the middle of a continuing story catch up on the characters. Iris Sparks, is a young woman who's dating a gangster and her mother is a Member of Parliament who cannot deal with her daughter's "irresponsible ways." "Sparks" has partnered with her friend, Gwen Bainbridge, widowed in WWII and just out of a period of grieving that turned into a stay in a mental facility. Gwen has a young son, her husband was titled and his parents are nice to her but had custody of her son. Gwen is now filthy rich. Sparks and Gwen are best friends and run a marriage bureau, helping to match couples in post-war London. They decide to throw a New Years Eve party for their clients but it is the last minute and so they secure as a venue a former club that Sparks' gangster boyfriend bought and is restoring from bomb damage. A body is found buried in a wall during demolition. The man who found the body is an old flame of Gwen's. The cop investigating is Sparks' ex fiancé. It's an old case, not a big deal because they cannot even identify the man. But Sparks noticed something was taken from the scene and it makes her curious. t Gwen and Sparks have done some sleuthing, as we know now, in five prior books. So, off we go into a a well wrought twisty mystery and a series of great subplots and bad dates for Gwen who's trying to get back into the swing of dating.

I loved this novel! I think the characters are fun. They are sufficiently developed for me to appreciate and connect to them. The premise is also nice, involving a friendship the reader enjoys between two women who know everything about the other. Along the way are a cast of obvious regulars as well as new folks brought in to die or become suspects or whatever. Montclair makes sure that all the weird people and their weird behaviors are explained sufficiently. The red herrings are well planted. The various scenes, e.g., when the gangster goes to dinner at Sparks' mother's home, are entertaining. The story is well plotted. As usual, one cannot say too much or a mystery review becomes a spoiler, but I'm going to say that, as a person who is not starting many new series, this is one I plan to read from book 1. So enjoyable. I'm happy to be a new fan.

I thoroughly enjoyed diving into this post-WWII mystery! Iris Sparks and Gwendolyn Bainbridge are as charming as ever, and the murder at the White Palace hotel offers plenty of twists to keep you guessing. I especially loved that Archie had a bigger role this time—his interactions with Iris and Gwen added extra depth to the story.

However, I was a bit let down by the ending, which felt unfinished. With the possibility that this might be the final book in the series, I'm left wondering about several unresolved plot threads. It’s frustrating to think I might never get closure on some of the story lines I’ve come to care about.

Overall, Montclair's writing continues to be sharp and evocative, making this a solid read for fans of historical mysteries. I just wish the conclusion had been more satisfying.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.