An Excellent Thing in a Woman

A riveting, fast-paced mystery full of wartime secrets, romance, and psychological trauma * Kirkus Reviews *
Montclair seamlessly blends fair-play detection, immersive period detail, and dashes of humor in her latest historical * Publishers Weekly *
This is one of the best series going at the moment … this installment retains the freshness and originality of the very first * Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine *
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 * Publishers Weekly on Murder at the White Palace *
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 * Publishers Weekly on Murder in the White Palace *
A page-turning mystery full of local color and angst-filled romances * Kirkus Reviews on Murder at the White Palace *
Intriguing characters and two mysteries are intertwined with little-known regulations on mental health in postwar England * Kirkus Reviews on The Lady from Burma *
Along with providing a solid cast of characters, Montclair does a swell job of bringing 1946 London to life * Booklist on The Unkept Woman *
A believable postwar tale with troubled heroines who must juggle lovers, spies, and an unexpected villain * Kirkus Reviews on The Unkept Woman *
Montclair’s capable, funny, and fully developed leads set a gold standard for the amateur sleuth subgenre. Dorothy Sayers’s fans will hope this series has a long run * Publishers Weekly Starred Review of The Unkept Woman *
Sharply plotted and filled with a robust cast of supporting characters, this is a mystery that both stands on its own and neatly links previous series entries * Booklist on A Rogue’s Company *
From the drawing room to the back alley, murder is no match for this unlikely pair of marriage brokers * Kirkus Reviews on A Rogue’s Company *
An artfully constructed puzzle and dry humor lift Montclair’s excellent third mystery featuring professional matchmakers and amateur sleuths Iris Sparks and Gwen Bainbridge in post-WWII London … Montclair’s feisty leads continue to develop as psychologically plausible characters. Phryne Fisher devotees will clamor for more * Publishers Weekly Starred Review of A Rogue’s Company *
Written with flair and lots of snarky humor, this is great fun for British mystery fans * Booklist on A Royal Affair *
Montclair’s stellar sequel … successfully combines the insightful characterizations of Jacqueline Winspear with the witty banter of Hammett’s Nick and Nora Charles. Fans of the British royal family will have fun * Publishers Weekly Starred Review of A Royal Affair *
Fans of M. C. Beaton will relish the wit, and followers of Susan Elia MacNeal and Jacqueline Winspear will enjoy the depth and the period detail. Readers will want to get on the reserve list for the next Iris and Gwen adventure * Booklist on The Right Sort of Man *
Montclair’s stellar debut and series launch introduces an unlikely pair of detectives … Both leads are complex, well-developed characters, whose penchant for humorous byplay never comes at the expense of the plot, which resolves itself in a clever fair play reveal. Fans of Maisie Dobbs and Bess Crawford will be delighted * Publishers Weekly Starred Review of The Right Sort of Man *

Allison Montclair is the author of the Sparks and Bainbridge mysteries, beginning with The Right Sort of Man, the American Library Association Reading List Council’s Best Mystery of 2019. Under her real name, she has written more mystery novels and a damn good werewolf book, as well as short stories in many genres in magazines and anthologies. She is also an award-winning librettist and lyricist with several musicals to her credit that have been performed or workshopped across the USA. She currently lives in New York City where she also practiced as a criminal defense attorney.

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