Good Novel, but Not Good Mystery
I was happy when I discovered the Sparks and Bainbridge Mysteries a couple of years back. Yes, I was behind since the series already had several books out, but I found the setup, characters, and story compelling. So imagine my disappointment to find that the third book in the series, A Rogue’s Company, forgot one of the key aspects of the genre – the mystery.
This book takes us back to 1946 London. In the aftermath of the second World War, two women have set up The Right Sort Marriage Bureau, a match making service. Miss Iris Sparks was an intelligence operative during the war, while Mrs. Gwendolyn Bainbridge is a war widow who lives with her in-laws since they gained custody of her son while she was recovering from her husband’s death.
It's now August, and Lord Bainbridge has returned from his latest trip to Africa, and he has brought back all the negativity that Gwen feared. He’s insisting that her six-year-old son, his grandson, attend the boarding school that all the Bainbridge men attend, despite that fact that no one else in the family thinks it is a good idea. He is threatening the servants and generally being a major pain. But Gwen has made progress and wants to regain control of her life. Can she do it?
For those following along with the series to date, this is a storyline we’ve become very invested in. So, from that perspective, this is a great novel with plenty that we care about. I found the story compelling and Lord Bainbridge insufferable in the way that all good villains should be. This is actually the first time we’ve met him since he’s been in Africa for the first two books in the series.
However, this is a mystery series. And as a mystery, this book is bad. There is a murder, but solving it is almost an accident. Other crimes come into play, and things do tie together nicely. Iris and Gwen are extremely bright, maybe a little too bright, in how they figure things out. But all this starts much too late in the book. While I was enjoying the storyline we were given, I was left wondering when the mystery would kick in. Or when we’d get back to the prologue. It just wasn’t plotted well enough for what this is supposed to be.
I know I’ve talked a lot of about Gwen so far. I enjoyed the growth we got for her character. But the story also forces Iris to deal with something from her past, and I enjoyed that as well. So fans of either will be happy spending time with them again. We’re getting a large cast of supporting characters, and they were all here. I love the banter some of the characters have with each other. Those unexpected bits of comedy make me laugh.
The paperback I bought recently included an extra story – or so it claimed. “The Haunting of the Desks” felt familiar to me as I read it, with bits of pieces coming back to me. I think it was put together from a subplot of the second book, but I wouldn’t swear to it. Either way, it is a better mystery in 40 pages than we got in the full novel.
Yes, I am aware just how harsh I’ve been sounding on the
plotting of this book. Let me be clear
on one thing. A few hours after
finishing this book, I ordered the next three in the series. I do fully intend to keep going and see what
else Sparks and Bainbridge get up to.
The characters are great. But A Rogue’s Company didn’t do them justice.
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