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Material Type | Library | Call Number | Item Barcode | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Book | Searching... Chelmsford Public Library | MYS/MONTCLAIR | 31480011258826 | Searching... Unknown |
| Book | Searching... Andover - Memorial Hall Library | MYSTERY MONTCLAIR | 31330008808036 | Searching... Unknown |
| Book | Searching... Billerica Public Library | MYSTERY/MONTCLAIR | 33934004201795 | Searching... Unknown |
| Book | Searching... Burlington Public Library | F MONTCL | 32116003646623 | Searching... Unknown |
| Book | Searching... Chelmsford MacKay Branch | MYS/MONTCLAIR | 31480011329981 | Searching... Unknown |
| Book | Searching... Groton Public Library | FIC MONTCLAIR | 37003701951478 | Searching... Unknown |
| Book | Searching... Groveland - Langley-Adams Library | MYS MONTCLAIR | 32121000810891 | Searching... Unknown |
| Book | Searching... Hamilton-Wenham Public Library | M MONTCLAIR | 30470001721017 | Searching... Unknown |
| Book | Searching... Haverhill Public Library | MYSTERY/MONTCLAIR A | 31479007019994 | Searching... Unknown |
| Book | Searching... Ipswich Public Library | FIC MONTCLAIR, ALLISON | 32122002726838 | Searching... Unknown |
| Book | Searching... Lawrence Public Library | FIC MON MYS | 31549004689120 | Searching... Unknown |
| Book | Searching... Littleton - Reuben Hoar Library | M MONTCLAIR | 39965002140191 | Searching... Unknown |
| Book | Searching... Lowell - Pollard Memorial Library | FIC MYST MONTCLAIR | 31481005389247 | Searching... Unknown |
| Book | Searching... Manchester-by-the-Sea Public Library | FIC MON | 32124001900893 | Searching... Unknown |
| Book | Searching... Methuen - Nevins Memorial Library | M MON | 31548003252013 | Searching... Unknown |
| Book | Searching... Middleton - Flint Public Library | F MONTCLAIR | 32126001677801 | Searching... Unknown |
| Book | Searching... North Andover - Stevens Memorial Library | MY MONTCLAIR | 31478010126283 | Searching... Unknown |
| Book | Searching... North Reading - Flint Memorial Library | FIC MONTCLAIR, A. | 31550002347836 | Searching... Unknown |
| Book | Searching... Salisbury Public Library | FIC MONTCLAIR | 32131000845854 | Searching... Unknown |
| Book | Searching... Tewksbury Public Library | FICTION MONTCLAIR | 32132003146795 | Searching... Unknown |
| Book | Searching... Topsfield Town Library | M MONTCLAIR | 32133002441534 | Searching... Unknown |
| Book | Searching... West Newbury - G.A.R. Memorial Library | F MON | 32135001454392 | Searching... Unknown |
| Book | Searching... Westford - J.V. Fletcher Library | F MONTCLAIR (M) | 31990004791732 | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
"A delightful immersion in the period and personalities, with that touch of depth that transforms a good series to a great one." --Laurie R. King
First comes love, then comes murder.
In a London slowly recovering from World War II, two very different women join forces to launch a business venture in the heart of Mayfair--The Right Sort Marriage Bureau. Miss Iris Sparks, quick-witted and impulsive, and Mrs. Gwendolyn Bainbridge, practical and widowed with a young son, are determined to achieve some independence and do some good in a rapidly changing world.
But the promising start to their marriage bureau is threatened when their newest client, Tillie La Salle, is found murdered and the man arrested for the crime is the prospective husband they matched her with. While the police are convinced they have their man, Miss Sparks and Mrs. Bainbridge are not. To clear his name--and to rescue their fledging operation's reputation--Sparks and Bainbridge decide to investigate on their own, using the skills and contacts they've each acquired through life and their individual adventures during the recent war.
Little do they know that this will put their very lives at risk.
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Set in 1946 London, Montclair's stellar debut and series launch introduces an unlikely pair of detectives. Gwen Bainbridge, whose husband died during WWII, lives with her late husband's parents, who managed to get legal custody of her six-year-old son, Ronnie. Gwen and Iris Sparks, a former operative for British intelligence, run the Right Sort Marriage Bureau. Their innocuous business becomes less so after client Tillie La Salle is stabbed to death shortly after her particulars were provided to Dickie Trower, a shy accountant. Dickie is charged with Tillie's murder, his purported motive anger over the cancellation of their first date. Convinced that the wrong person is behind bars and facing intensely negative press, Gwen and Iris investigate Tillie's death. They soon find plausible alternative motives, including fallout from the dead woman's involvement in the black market and a former beau's jealousy. Both leads are complex, well-developed characters, whose penchant for humorous byplay never comes at the expense of the plot, which resolves itself in a clever fair play reveal. Fans of Maisie Dobbs and Bess Crawford will be delighted. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
A war widow joins a former spy in setting up a matrimonial agency.Losing her husband, Ronnie, to combat in World War II sends Gwendolyn Bainbridge into an incapacitating depression. When she emerges from her extended stay in a private sanitarium, she learns that her mother-in-law, Lady Carolyne Bainbridge, has won the legal right to manage all of Gwen's affairs, including legal guardianship of Gwen's young son. But a chance meeting with Iris Sparks, whose work for the War Office is best summed up as "I can't tell you that," gives Gwen a renewed sense of purpose. The ill-assorted pair decide to open a matrimonial agency. Iris, who's been engaged multiple times, brings a wealth of experience about what does or doesn't make couples click, while Gwen adds a smattering of clerical skills as well as the determination to do something worthwhile. Fueled by their disparate talents, The Right Sort Marriage Bureau enjoys a modicum of success before the roof caves in. Tillie La Salle, an East Ender who works in a dress shop, enlists their help in finding a spouse to take her far away from Shadwell. Almost immediately afterward, she's found murdered, and the police arrest Richard Trower, Iris and Gwen's initial match for her. The tabloids have a field day with the story. It takes wit, grit, and ingenuity for the pair to save their agency. The account of game Gwen's efforts to navigate London public transport is worth the purchase price all on its own.The Right Sort Marriage Bureau's debut is exactly the right sort to have readers hoping for a second date. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
First Comes Love, Then Comes Murder. Now there's an unintended slogan that seems made to order for The Right Sort Marriage Bureau, a new enterprise in the heart of London's Mayfair in the years after WWII. Proprietors: the worldly Miss Iris Sparks, Cambridge-educated, with a hush-hush background in the secret service, and the sheltered Mrs. Gwendolyn Bainbridge, at the mercy of her late husband's wealthy family. The business is off to a successful start but becomes seriously compromised when a client is murdered, and the prime suspect is the very man with whom they matched her. The police see it as an open-and-shut case, but Iris and Gwen take it upon themselves to clear his name and salvage their reputation using the combined, somewhat odd assortment of contacts, talents, and survival skills acquired on their individual life journeys. Fans of M. C. Beaton will relish the wit, and followers of Susan Elia MacNeal and Jacqueline Winspear will enjoy the depth and the period detail. Readers will want to get on the reserve list for the next Iris and Gwen adventure.--Jane Murphy Copyright 2019 Booklist