The Sparks and Bainbridge series is relatively young in its inception. I read the first two books but couldn’t get this one in this month—though I do plan on reading it later on this year. The series, overall, has been solid with loads of four and five star reviews flooding Amazon and Goodreads (mine among them!). Montclair is a talented writer when it comes to murder mysteries but one of the things I enjoy most about her books is the way that the mystery unfolds.
It’s always thought out and polished. Since this series is still new, the author does a great job catching new readers up to speed with characters and other side plots while still maintaining the focus on the mystery itself. Since this is only the third book, it’s easy for readers to go back and catch up on other books in the series if they are so inclined.
I feel confident recommending this new installment, as the other two have been solid and wonderful to read! If you are unsure if you should pick this one up mid series, I feel confident that readers will quickly find their bearings and become invested in the series. If you love historical mysteries with smart lady detectives, you don’t want to miss this one! It’s a wonderful new series and this installment promises to give readers something to enjoy over the summer!
Summary
*A PW Pick of the Week!*
In Allison Monclair’s A Rogue’s Company, business becomes personal for the Right Sort Marriage Bureau when a new client, a brutal murder, two kidnappings, and the recently returned from Africa Lord Bainbridge threatens everything that one of the principals holds dear.
In London, 1946, the Right Sort Marriage Bureau is getting on its feet and expanding. Miss Iris Sparks and Mrs. Gwendolyn Bainbridge are making a go of it. That is until Lord Bainbridge—the widowed Gwen’s father-in-law and legal guardian—returns from a business trip to Africa and threatens to undo everything important to her, even sending her six-year-old son away to a boarding school.
But there’s more going on than that. A new client shows up at the agency, one whom Sparks and Bainbridge begin to suspect really has a secret agenda, somehow involving the Bainbridge family. A murder and a subsequent kidnapping sends Sparks to seek help from a dangerous quarter—and now their very survival is at stake.
The Lit Bitch 