Murder in the Afternoon (A Kate Shackleton Mystery)

The world in the 1920’s was a very different place. When you add in the cultural shift to Yorkshire, one of England’s most independent-minded counties, the sense of difference could not be more acute. Murder in the Afternoon looks with an unvarnished eye at the nature of family life, the role of adoption, and the rampant sexism of the day. It begins when a new client comes knocking at the door of Kate Shackleton. Our hero is a widow, her husband missing in action in World War I. Because her adoptive father is a senior police officer, she’s been able to get work as a private investigator. In part because she’s a woman, she’s proved adept at persuading people to talk with her and she’s solved a number of important cases.

The early morning disturbance is caused by a woman claiming to be her natural sister — a fact later confirmed. Her husband has gone missing (note the parallelism with Kate’s missing husband). The result is both a fascinating exploration of life as it was, and a genuinely pleasing mystery when the husband’s body is later discovered. This is a real treat for anyone who enjoys a thoughtful historical mystery.