Books
The Right Sort of Man

by Allison Montclair
Minotaur Books, June 2019, $26.99

This is one of the most enjoyable books I’ve read in several years.

It’s bomb-ravaged London in 1946, and the building housing The Right Sort of Marriage Bureau is the only one left standing on its street. The three-month-old bureau is actually a dating service for people who want to find a marriage partner. It’s run by two women who are exact opposites in many ways, yet have grown to be best friends and business associates. Iris is a small, slim, outgoing brunette in her late 20s involved with a married man and haunted by her secret wartime experience. Gwen is a statuesque blonde trying to overcome a psychological breakdown after her husband’s wartime death, which led to her mother-in-law being given custody of her six-year-old son.

When a young woman named Tillie, seeking to find a husband, arrives and is interviewed by the pair, she is set up with shy, young Army veteran Dickie Trower, who has become an accountant. Not long after, Tillie is found stabbed to death and Dickie is charged with the murder when the knife that killed her is found under his mattress in the rooming house where he lives. Because Gwen and Iris are almost certain that he is not the killer, and because the police have closed the books on the case, the pair begin their own investigation using the background information they have on Tillie to begin their probe on her and her friends.

Thus begins an intriguing mystery that utilizes Iris’ undercover experience to infiltrate the gangsters that Tillie had been associated with, and Gwen’s people skills to learn more about her from her friends. Meanwhile, the office is run by Iris’ male pal from her war work, a large and imposing man named Sally who doubles as their “debt collector” for people who have married through the introductory service.

I not only loved the realistic atmosphere of the period, but also the sometimes serious, sometimes humorous dialogue between the two protagonists, the way their relationship helps each of them deal with their personal problems, and how their unusual friendship finally brings the case to a surprising but satisfying conclusion.

Joseph Scarpato, Jr.
Teri Duerr
6560
Montclair
June 2019
the-right-sort-of-man
26.99
Minotaur Books