The Right Sort of Man

This book was very, very good. I want to say that this book isn't jaw-droppingly spectacular, but I'd also feel like I was discounting what it did well because not a lot of books and authors in this subgenre can pull it off as well as this one did.

The Right Sort of Man is set in post-WW2 London and has just enough of that dreary post-war vibes where everything was tightly rationed, women were just starting to come into a new identity and place in society, and class divides were more critically examined than ever. It introduces us to two spunky heroines and did a great job in making each of them fleshed-out characters with their own personalities, struggles, strengths, and weaknesses. There is absolutely no way you could confuse Gwen Bainbridge for Iris Sparks. Having very similar and almost interchangeable main characters, especially female ones, is a problem that has plagued many a book, but Montclair did a great job with this one. Despite the setting and even through its more seedy scenes with gangsters and underground pubs, there's also a light-hearted fun and humour that pervades through this book. Perhaps not entirely realistic, but it fits just nicely into this genre where you're not looking to read grimdark realities, but a more optimistic and light-hearted approximation.

The central mystery was also well thought out and fairly well executed. The solution was somewhat satisfying, although my only criticism is that the culprit turned out to be someone from the whole other side of the story, i.e. who framed Dickie Trower instead of who had an interest in killing Tillie. The fact that Sparks and Bainbridge only found this out literally in the penultimate chapter was a little frustrating as well, because it felt like the whole book was spent on a wild goose chase investigating everything and everyone to do with Tillie when in fact the culprit turned out to be from Dickie's contacts. Nevertheless, I was still somewhat happy with the way the ending and the resolution was handled.

Overall, this was a quick and fun read, and I'd certainly be interested in continuing the next instalment in the series.

This one was a pleasant surprise. Well-plotted. Interesting characters. Good balance of historical fiction and mystery. I am looking forward to reading the next one.

My only critiques are that there are sections heavy in dialogue that could use some description, and the banter can go on a tad too long. Also, sometimes the backstory felt forced in its reveal, like it was dumped out into big paragraphs.

Other than that, this novel far exceeded my expectations and I hope that the series gets better and better as we go along.