Comprised of ten short stories, this book follows private detective Hester Lynton and her secretary, Ivy. The stories range from burglary and forgery to kidnapping and murder. In each story, Hester is approached by someone who needs both her talents as well as her discretion.
Hester and Ivy gave me major Sherlock Holmes vibes, which was great. I don’t read short stories often, but I found myself drawn from story to story. Each story felt well thought out and well executed. While I managed to know who the culprit was in many of the stories, it was enjoyable watching Hester and Ivy figure it out. The author included any notes and riddles that Hester received for the reader as well, giving the reader the ability to put themselves momentarily into the story. I am always interested in a book that involves riddles and this book added them in quite well. The nod to classic literature in both style and characters was fun. I never knew who I might get to see from one story to the next.
My favorite parts of the stories were Hester and Ivy themselves. The two women were resourceful, independent and just generally good people. In every situation, Hester put a great deal of thought and energy into making sure that as few people as possible got hurt. There are many stories where there is a detective and an assistant and the assistant is treated with little care. In this case, I felt that Ivy was every bit as capable as Hester. She may not have been quite as clever, but she held her own in each story. Her character was fully fleshed out with her own motivations and abilities.
My only complaint is a small one. While I liked a majority of the stories, there were one or two that just dragged on for me and I almost lost interest in the entire book. I felt that there were lags where there was no new information on the case, no character development and no action. I can appreciate the fact that it was adding a sense of drama to the reveal, but it really made me question if I was missing a key plot point. The stories after were lovely and interesting reads.
3.5/5
Thank you to netgalley and Tony Evans for the ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.
The Novel Llama 