The Missing Maid
In this first story we meet Harry White, a woman who doesn’t need to work but wants to. Her mother just wants her to get married and settle down. So when a situation at work gets her demoted to a strange new position, she does not talk about it at home.
The author notes that there were actually people at the time writing to the fictional Sherlock Holmes at his Baker Street address and this adventure begins with one such letter that tugs at Harry. She decides to give investigation a go and soon realises how deep this story might go.
Although there is a reasonably satisfying ending to the book, it appears that the nursery itself might not be entirely done.
I found it an entertaining beginning to a series and I liked almost all the primary characters that we meet. I picked up the next almost immediately after.
Almost openly inspired by the Hound of Baskerville, or so I felt. The ambience was similar. The author moved a step away from the last investigation. There was a sense of adventure in the last one, even with the evident danger. Here the danger and the foreboding emotions are at the forefront.
The case is to figure out why an established writer suddenly seems to have lost his mind with unnatural fear. The writing and setting of the scene draws you in, even if the actual reveal felt a bit like a let down. The budding romance is also starting to get interesting, as are the hints about the longer running case of the unscrupulous ladies.
I found it very easy to read both the books in the series. I breezed through them and felt invested for the most part. I would recommend this series to fans of the genre. I wonder how different the next one is going to be, given how this one ended.
I received both books as ARCs thanks to Netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience
