Brittney’s 7th installment in her Mayfair 100 series, set in London during World War 1, brings the same attention to historical detail as the rest of this fascinating collection of stories that encompass a murder investigation while examining the societal constraints and mores of the era.
With a special task force set up to include women, DCI Peter Beech, invalided out with an injured leg, leads the team that includes two other policemen, Sgt. Arthur Tillman who has come out to retirement to help, and invalided constable, Billy Rigby. The competent women who assist them are Women’s Hospital physician Caroline; Pharmacist Mabel; and solicitor Victoria, who is qualified but unable to practice law as a woman. They are aided by Billy’s mother and aunt, while the team is headquartered in Victoria’s mother’s house. Lady Maud Winterbourne has allowed her Mayfair home to be the center for the team, whileher society connections often prove invaluable.
It’s February of 1916 and The Military Service Act has been passed, which in the US would be called the draft, making military service compulsory for single men between 18-41. The first victim, which Victoria had encountered shortly before her murder, is a young woman who shamed a man for not signing up by handing him a white feather.
The White Feather League used these women to indicate they regarded the men as cowards. While often that was not true, as a man might have served and been invalided out, the league’s actions raise the ire of Victoria, already widowed, who fears her new love will be conscripted.
The dead girl is found with her throat cut in a distinctive way, and soon a young art student designing recruitment posters is murdered with the same unusual implement. When a third woman is attacked but wards her murderer off, there is hope she can identify her would-be killer, but at first she is kept in a medical coma, unable to be questioned. The Mayfair team is tasked with warning women involved in promoting this kind of propaganda, but the numbers are heady and the task difficult, while at the same time they search for details in each killing for leads.
Woven into the investigation, Caroline and Mabel are asked to inspect a factory contructing aircraft where women are falling ill, and there is a suspicion that the chemicals used in their process are causing permanent health damage to the workers. This fascinating subplot will capture readers attention as it leads to new restrictions.
Then the search for the killer ratchets up when one of the team disappears without a trace. Could the killer have taken their member off the street? The compelling story rises to a riveting and surprising climax.
The hallmark of the series is Brittney’s consistent and realistic historical detailing, reflecting the enormous research she must undertake in many areas to bring this kind of multi-layered story to readers.
Highly recommended.
Auntiemwrites Crime-Mystery Author M K Graff 