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Published Jun 2019
336 pages
Genre: Mysteries
Publication Information
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.
"The Right Sort of Man Marriage Bureau's debut is exactly the right sort to have readers hoping for a second date!" - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"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." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Full of heart, astute, and darkly comic, The Right Sort of Man is a keenly observed historical mystery set in post-WWII London about two women, a former intelligence agent and war widow, who join forces and set up a marriage bureau with the mission to knit lives together, while grappling with their own pasts." - Cara Black, New York Times bestselling author
"The Right Sort of Man is the right sort of book! I loved every minute of this delightful adventure with two thoroughly modern women fighting for a place in a rapidly changing world. Can't wait for the next installment!" - Victoria Thompson, bestselling author of Murder on Union Square
"Utterly fabulous! Vivid historical detail, gorgeous prose, and witty, unforgettable characters all combine to make The Right Sort of Man one of the best books I've read this year. Perfect for fans of Jacqueline Winspear and Susan Elia MacNeal. I can't wait to read Iris and Gwen's next adventure!" - Anna Lee Huber, bestselling author of the Lady Darby Mysteries
"Rarely have I seen a novel that manages to be so charming and so substantial at the same time. The Right Sort of Man does more than nail post-WWII London in pitch-perfect setting and language--it introduces a female dynamic duo with whom I very quickly fell in love. The end of this book left me with a single thought: when can I read the next Iris and Gwen adventure?" - Lyndsay Faye, author of The Gods of Gotham and Jane Steele
"A delightful immersion in the period and personalities, with that touch of depth that transforms a good series to a great one." - Laurie R. Kin
This information about The Right Sort of Man was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Allison Montclair grew up devouring hand-me-down Agatha Christie paperbacks and James Bond movies. As a result of this deplorable upbringing, Montclair became addicted to tales of crime, intrigue, and espionage. She now spends her spare time poking through the corners, nooks, and crannies of history, searching for the odd mysterious bits and transforming them into novels of her own.
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