A lovely start to a new series that I'm looking forward to following.

I liked the idea of Mabel working for the Useful Women's Agency as it meant that she was sent to do a wide variety of jobs and every day brought something different. These jobs introduce a variety of side characters and I'm hoping that a few of them will be recurring characters in the series. I especially enjoyed the antics of the little boy needing to be escorted to and from the train to boarding school.

The story is a little bit slower than what I would normally like but because Mabel is such a charming character and her jobs were a lot of fun I enjoyed the slower pace.

The narrator does an excellent job and makes the listening experience easy and enjoyable.

I enjoyed the mystery although I was surprised that Mabel didn't figure out the identity of the dead man a lot quicker. I liked Mabel and Park's new friendship. They were quite cute and endearing. It will be interesting to see how things develop there.

The scene is also set for The Agency getting involved in future investigations so watch this space. ( )

1921, first-in-series, new-series, amateur-sleuth, London, situational-humor, investigation, murder, missing-persons, family, friends, ex-cop, cozy-mystery, historical-fiction, pet-dog, local-law-enforcement*****

Suspend disbelief and you will enjoy this historical romp as much as I did!
Mabel left the village of Peasmarsh, moved into New River House, made friends with fellow rooming house residents (Cora and Skeff), and came to work at the Useful Women’s Agency. One of her earliest assignments is to the home of former music hall dancer Rosalind whose husband has been missing for seven years, opens the door to an unknown dead man, meets Rosalind's brother Park Winstone (formerly of both the Met and the diplomatic corps) and Park's dog Gladys. This is a light-hearted read with an interesting and well-written cozy murder and lots of fun situational guffaws. At the end Mabel joins forces with the Useful Women's Agency to form the London Ladies' Murder Club!
I requested and received an EARC from Bookouture via NetGalley. Thanks for the fun! ( )

Mabel Canning has determined to leave her small town and move to London where she will be a useful woman. It's 1921 and Mabel is thirty-two. World War I is over, she's lost her best friend to the Spanish flu, and has decided that it is time to make her dreams come true.

She gets a job with an agency which supplies "useful women" to do any sort of task for gentlewomen. Mabel has a variety of tasks to perform from washing a dog to escorting a slippery eight-year-old to the train which will take him to school. But the job helping a woman plan for a wake is the one that consumes her and points her to a rather different career path.

Rosalind Despard is planning a wake for her husband who disappeared seven years earlier. Mabel starts by making sandwiches for the guests, but, when a body is discovered on the doorstep and a letter from her husband is found on his body, Mabel finds herself solving a mystery or two.

Along with Rosalind's brother Park Winstone and Park's dog Gladys, Mabel finds herself investigating to discover who the man was and eventually what happened to Rosalind's husband. Her investigations take her to music halls and the London Docks and let her make friends with some of the women who live in the same flats where Mabel lives.

I liked the period detail in the story. I also liked that Mabel was taking steps to secure her own independence and becoming more confident in her abilities as the story progressed. I like her relationship with Park Winstone. They seem like they could be a good team for investigating future crimes since they successfully solved this one.

Fans of cozy British mysteries and historical mysteries will enjoy meeting Mabel and her friends and colleagues. ( )