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ruthiella's review against another edition
2.0
Mirablle Bevan used to work in administration in the secret service during WWII, but now in 1951 life is routine and maybe a little dull. She works as a secretary for a debt collection agency in Brighton and nurses whisky and mourns for her dead lover. However, when her boss leaves her in charge of the office for three days, she becomes embroiled in mystery that will involve murder, false impersonation and kidnapping.
This is a popular series, but I likely won't continue it. Initially, I thought it sounded like it might be fun, but I prefer mysteries that are solved out based on clues and deduction. Mirabelle pretty much stumbles into every reveal and the plot was overly convoluted for my taste. I found Mirabelle uninteresting as a character and much of the book’s dialogue felt anachronistic.
This is a popular series, but I likely won't continue it. Initially, I thought it sounded like it might be fun, but I prefer mysteries that are solved out based on clues and deduction. Mirabelle pretty much stumbles into every reveal and the plot was overly convoluted for my taste. I found Mirabelle uninteresting as a character and much of the book’s dialogue felt anachronistic.
veronica87's review against another edition
3.0
Set in Brighton, England in 1951, this entertaining mystery story centers on Mirabelle Bevan, an intelligent woman in her (I'm guessing) mid-thirties who, much like England itself, is still recovering from the after effects of WW1. For Mirabelle, that means mourning the death of her lover 18 months ago. She's been going through the motions of her life, having left behind her work in intelligence with the British Secret Service (which her lover, Jack, also did) to seek out peaceful monotony working for a debt collection agency. When a new debt collection case comes in that doesn't add up and her boss goes missing, Mirabelle's old Secret Service instincts get activated. As she follows the clues and the plot thickens, she crosses paths with Vesta Churchill ("no relation"), the plucky secretary in the insurance company across the hall, and Detective Inspector Alan McGregor.
This was a quick read but it was well paced, not perfect but not a lot that felt like filler either. I really liked Mirabelle as well as the secondary characters, though they can all use some more fleshing out. The mystery aspect had branches seemingly going off in all sorts of directions but it gets tied together in the end and it's quite time appropriate considering what was going on during those post-war years. I'm definitely going to read more in this series.
This was a quick read but it was well paced, not perfect but not a lot that felt like filler either. I really liked Mirabelle as well as the secondary characters, though they can all use some more fleshing out. The mystery aspect had branches seemingly going off in all sorts of directions but it gets tied together in the end and it's quite time appropriate considering what was going on during those post-war years. I'm definitely going to read more in this series.
rozereads's review
3.0
A cozy mystery that I liked enough that I will go ahead and read more books in the series.
julieputty's review
2.0
I finished it, but it didn't work for me. Stupid, reckless heroine, coincidences abounding, bad dialog, worse villains, hopping from one POV to another during a scene, big events underwritten or off-stage while small things take up forever. Bah.
tearainread's review
3.0
I think the covers showed a depiction of the story and characters that looked too posh for something dark and creepy. Boy was I wrong. And this should teach me to judge a book by its cover.
Mirabelle is a former British Secret Service intelligence worker who left the service and London when her lover died from a heart attack. The story takes place in 1951, two years after his death, and Mirabelle at first is still deep into mourning, living life by just going through the motions and drinking a little more than she should. She moved to Brighton and is working as an office manager/administrative assistant in a debt collection agency. Her boss is a good guy, and doesn't ask personal questions.
Until the day her boss goes missing, a new client is looking for help in collecting on a debt, and a friend from her time in the BSS comes to call - in one day. She makes friends with the office admin in the insurance company offices next door named Vesta Churchill (no relations to those other Churchills). With Vesta's knowledge of insurance and Mirabelle's experience in the BSS, the ladies go a-sleuthing. One (Father Sandor, Mirabelle's friend from the war) plus one (her dead boss' body found in a coffin labeled for someone else) equals FORMER NAZIS! This story is about a lot of little plotlines all converging into one coherent conspiracy, along with corruption in Brighton's police department (giving an easy way of introducing outsider Detective MacGregor as a potential love interest) and a look at racism in England in the 1950s through both Vesta's and Mirabelle's eyes.
This isn't quite a cozy mystery (the death count is HIGH for a non-serial killer story and some of the deaths are on the page), but not a thriller or suspense type of mystery either. Vesta and Mirabelle are smart in different ways and really balance each other out. I really enjoyed their friendship. I also really liked Mirabelle coming back to herself while investigating; she seemed like such a lost soul in the beginning of the book, but as the investigation gave her purpose outside of just living day to day, she seemed to be realizing that she still has lots to do and give to the world. It was like going from black and white to Technicolor.
Mirabelle is a former British Secret Service intelligence worker who left the service and London when her lover died from a heart attack. The story takes place in 1951, two years after his death, and Mirabelle at first is still deep into mourning, living life by just going through the motions and drinking a little more than she should. She moved to Brighton and is working as an office manager/administrative assistant in a debt collection agency. Her boss is a good guy, and doesn't ask personal questions.
Until the day her boss goes missing, a new client is looking for help in collecting on a debt, and a friend from her time in the BSS comes to call - in one day. She makes friends with the office admin in the insurance company offices next door named Vesta Churchill (no relations to those other Churchills). With Vesta's knowledge of insurance and Mirabelle's experience in the BSS, the ladies go a-sleuthing. One (Father Sandor, Mirabelle's friend from the war) plus one (her dead boss' body found in a coffin labeled for someone else) equals FORMER NAZIS! This story is about a lot of little plotlines all converging into one coherent conspiracy, along with corruption in Brighton's police department (giving an easy way of introducing outsider Detective MacGregor as a potential love interest) and a look at racism in England in the 1950s through both Vesta's and Mirabelle's eyes.
This isn't quite a cozy mystery (the death count is HIGH for a non-serial killer story and some of the deaths are on the page), but not a thriller or suspense type of mystery either. Vesta and Mirabelle are smart in different ways and really balance each other out. I really enjoyed their friendship. I also really liked Mirabelle coming back to herself while investigating; she seemed like such a lost soul in the beginning of the book, but as the investigation gave her purpose outside of just living day to day, she seemed to be realizing that she still has lots to do and give to the world. It was like going from black and white to Technicolor.