At first glance, both the cover and the title (The Right Sort of Man #851) of Allison Montclair's new mystery would suggest that it is light chick-lit fare. Happily, it turned out to be much more than that.
Just after the end of WWII in a London still plagued by shortages of most goods and food, two women meet by chance at a wedding. Gwendolyn Bainbridge is an aristocratic widow with a son, while Iris Sparks has many unusual skills she acquired during the war, but which she "cannot talk about". On the strength of that meeting, the unlikely pair decide to go into business together. What is needed more after the disruptions and losses of the previous years than a safe way to meet a partner interested in a long-term commitment? Thus the Right Sort Marriage Bureau is born.
When a young woman new to the agency is murdered on her very first date with another Bureau client, the police find evidence and arrest the young man in question. The only problem is that both Iris and Gwen are convinced that mild-mannered Dickie Trower couldn't possibly have been the murderer. The only way to prevent Mr. Trower from hanging for a crime he didn't commit is to find the real assailant. As they investigate, the women are drawn into a murky world of post-war intrigue and crime. Soon their own lives are in jeopardy...
I really hope that The Right Sort of Man is not the only appearance of Gwen and Iris. Besides being a well-plotted mystery, the setting of grimy London in the war's aftermath is unusual. The characters, both good and bad, are intriguing and well-drawn. Ms. Montclair keeps dropping tidbits about Iris and Gwen's pasts, and the high stakes both professional and personal of making a success of their fledgling business. You can't help but root for them and their championship of their lonely client. A most enjoyable read!
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