Murder at the White Palace

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. After Gwen’s husband died in WWII, her wealthy family assigned her a court-appointed guardian, but she’s just received a judicial order freeing her from the arrangement. To celebrate, she proposes that she and Iris throw a New Year’s Eve party for their Right Sort Marriage Bureau clients. With a shortage of available spaces in London, the pair turns to Archie Spelling, Iris’s property baron boyfriend, for help. He sends them to the White Palace, a run-down dance hall, and in the process of making the venue party ready, they discover a corpse. The police—including lead investigator Mike Kinsey, Iris’s ex-fiancé—suspect Archie of the killing, forcing Iris and Gwen to help clear his name. As they investigate, pulling together a list of possible suspects who are too close to their own social circles for comfort, Gwen tiptoes back into the dating world for the first time since her husband’s death. 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. (July)