Murder at the White Palace
A Sparks & Bainbridge Mystery
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- ¥1,700
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- ¥1,700
発行者による作品情報
In post-WWII London, the matchmakers of The Right Sort Marriage Bureau are involved in yet another murder.
In the immediate post-war days of London, two unlikely partners have undertaken an even more unlikely, if necessary, business venture—The Right Sort Marriage Bureau. The two partners are Miss Iris Sparks, a woman with a dangerous—and never discussed—past in British intelligence and Mrs. Gwendolyn Bainbridge, a genteel war widow with a young son entangled in a complicated aristocratic family. Looking to throw a New Year’s Eve soiree for their clients, Sparks and Bainbridge scout an empty building—only to find a body contained in the walls. What they initially assume is a victim of the recent Blitz is uncovered instead to be a murder victim—stabbed several times.
To make matters worse, the owner of the building is Sparks’ beau, Archie Spelling, who has ties to a variety of enterprises on the right and wrong sides of the law, and the main investigator for the police is her ex-fiancée. Gwen, too, is dealing with her own complicated love life, as she tentatively steps back into the dating pool for the first time since her husband’s death. Murder is not something they want to add to their plates, but the murderer may be closer to home than is comfortable, and they must do all they can to protect their clients, their business and themselves.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Set in 1946 London, Montclair's sixth whodunit featuring matchmakers Iris Sparks and Gwen Bainbridge (after The Lady from Burma) is another winning blend of humor and mystery. After Gwen's husband died in WWII, her wealthy family assigned her a court-appointed guardian, but she's just received a judicial order freeing her from the arrangement. To celebrate, she proposes that she and Iris throw a New Year's Eve party for their Right Sort Marriage Bureau clients. With a shortage of available spaces in London, the pair turns to Archie Spelling, Iris's property baron boyfriend, for help. He sends them to the White Palace, a run-down dance hall, and in the process of making the venue party ready, they discover a corpse. The police—including lead investigator Mike Kinsey, Iris's ex-fiancé—suspect Archie of the killing, forcing Iris and Gwen to help clear his name. As they investigate, pulling together a list of possible suspects who are too close to their own social circles for comfort, Gwen tiptoes back into the dating world for the first time since her husband's death. The banter between Iris and Gwen remains brisk and hilarious, and Montclair does a particularly good job throwing readers off the culprit's scent. Series fans will be over the moon.