annieb123's Review of The Lady from Burma (Sparks & Bainbridge Mystery, #5)

by Allison Montclair

In Allison Montclair's The Lady from Burma, murder once again stalks the proprietors of The Right Sort Marriage Bureau in the surprisingly dangerous landscape of post-World War II London.

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 war widow with a young son entangled in a complicated aristocratic family. Mostly their clients are people trying to start (or restart) their lives in this much-changed world, but their new client is something different. A happily married woman has come to them to find a new wife for her husband. Dying of cancer, she wants the two to make sure her entomologist, academic husband finds someone new once she passes.

Shortly thereafter, she's found dead in Epping Forest, in what appears to be a suicide. But that doesn't make sense to either Sparks or Bainbridge. At the same time, Bainbridge is attempting to regain legal control of her life, opposed by the conservator who has been managing her assets - perhaps not always in her best interest. When that conservator is found dead, Bainbridge herself is one of the prime suspects. Attempting to make sense of two deaths at once, to protect themselves and their clients, the redoubtable owners of the Right Sort Marriage Bureau are once again on the case.

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.

Reading updates

4 April, 2024: Started reading

4 April, 2024: Finished reading

4 April, 2024: Reviewed