annieb123
Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.
The Lady from Burma is the fifth Sparks & Bainbridge historical mystery by Allison Montclair. Released 25th July 2023 by Macmillan on their Minotaur imprint, it's 336 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.
The writing is the high point. It's elegant, engaging, and smooth. Readers will appreciate the settings and immersive descriptions. The characters, including the secondary ones, are well rounded and feel integral and more than just window dressing. The author is also adept at narrative fiction overall, and the plotting is well crafted with good pacing which engaged but never overwhelmed the story.
The dialogue is intelligent and often rapid fire. I enjoyed the flow of the banter, especially between the two titular main characters; even (especially) when they were discussing very serious subjects, such as the changing landscape of London and the post-war world, wartime activities and deaths.
There are some potentially triggering themes: isolation, sexist treatment of women, suicide ideation. The book is warmly and sympathetically written but it's generally not humorous at all.
Four stars. Although the mystery is self contained here (and a twisty mystery it is), there are major spoilers for earlier books if read out of order.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.