Barbara’s rating: 3.6 out of 5 Stars
Series: The Scottish Ladies Detective Agency #1
Publication Date: 4/27/23
Period: 1911 Edinburgh – George V
Number of Pages: 340
I love historical mysteries and I love Scotland, so this sounded like the perfect book! I believe this is the author’s first book under this pen name, but she has written other books under the name Linda Tyler. This series is set in a politically turbulent time in England and Scotland. The country is still dealing with the loss of King Edward and George V ascending to the throne. There are whispers of war and the females of the population are demanding the vote and to be recognized as people rather than property.
Miss Maud McIntyre is a fortunate young woman. She has money of her own (from her mother) and a father who is doting enough and supportive enough to allow her to try to follow her lifelong dream of being a detective. She has read and practically memorized every detective story ever written (and you will see quotes from them as you move through the book) and she is particularly fond of Sherlock Holmes. Maude has invested a great deal of her money into setting up the agency along with her friend and former lady’s maid – so, when a potential client walks through the door on that first day – excitement abounds. Only to be lost again when he promptly leaves after discovering that the M. McIntyre Agency is run by females rather than males. He’ll come to regret that.
Daisy Cameron is Maud’s former lady’s maid who became a dear friend and is now her assistant at the detective agency. They work very well together with each augmenting the other’s weaknesses. Daisy is pragmatic, saucy, and grateful to be working where she is rather than being in service.
While their first potential client may have walked out the door, he was soon replaced by an even better one – the Duchess of Duddington. The Duchess is having a house party and since there has been a recent rash of thefts at house parties, the Duchess wants Maude and Daisy to catch the thief if they are at her house party.
There is a fairly quick but unsatisfying end to the case at the house party – and that case is quickly followed by three others – a missing dog, missing letters, and a missing fiancé. When those last cases are solved, there is still that unsatisfying end to the first case. Was the wrong man arrested? If not him, who? Then – Maud and Daisy are attacked – again. Why?
I liked this book, but I did not love this book. I liked it well enough to want to read the next book to see if it solves any of the issues I had with this one. For me, there was just way too much historical detail. Having the historical details around the suffragette movement would have been great had there just been less of it. I felt as if the mystery was just there as some filler space for all of the suffragette information. The story was also fairly slow and plodding during most of the book – no real excitement at all. Perhaps this is the author’s first attempt at a mystery, so I’ll definitely try another book to see how things go.
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