Today’s post is on A
Girl Like You by Michelle Cox. It is the first in her Henrietta and Inspector Howard series. It is 276 pages long and is
published by She Writes Press. The cover has the two main characters on it
looking at each other. The intended reader is someone who likes historical
mysteries with a side of a love story. There is mild foul language, talk of
sex, and mild violence in this novel. The story is told from third person close
of the two main characters. There Be Spoilers Ahead.
From the back of the book- Henrietta Von Harmon works as a
26 girl at a corner bar on Chicago’s northwest side. It’s 1935, but things
still aren’t looking up since the big crash and her father’s subsequent
suicide, leaving Henrietta to care for her antagonistic mother and younger
siblings. Henrietta is eventually persuaded to take a job as a taxi dancer at a
local dance hall―and just when she’s beginning to enjoy herself, the floor
matron turns up dead.
When aloof Inspector Clive Howard appears on the scene, Henrietta agrees to go undercover for him―and is plunged into Chicago’s grittier underworld. Meanwhile, she’s still busy playing mother hen to her younger siblings, as well as to pesky neighborhood boy Stanley, who believes himself in love with her and keeps popping up in the most unlikely places, determined to keep Henrietta safe―even from the Inspector, if need be. Despite his efforts, however, and his penchant for messing up the Inspector’s investigation, the lovely Henrietta and the impenetrable Inspector find themselves drawn to each other in most unsuitable ways.
When aloof Inspector Clive Howard appears on the scene, Henrietta agrees to go undercover for him―and is plunged into Chicago’s grittier underworld. Meanwhile, she’s still busy playing mother hen to her younger siblings, as well as to pesky neighborhood boy Stanley, who believes himself in love with her and keeps popping up in the most unlikely places, determined to keep Henrietta safe―even from the Inspector, if need be. Despite his efforts, however, and his penchant for messing up the Inspector’s investigation, the lovely Henrietta and the impenetrable Inspector find themselves drawn to each other in most unsuitable ways.
Review- This is an interesting mystery with a love story that
takes center stage towards the end. The setting is very fun with lots of little
details like language and descriptions of everyday life that add to the overall
ambiance. Henrietta is doing whatever jobs she can get her hands on to feed her
family as her mother cannot work for many reasons. That leads her to working as
a taxi dancer and from there into murder and love. The love story for most of
the novel is very much in the background but at the end it takes over the
story. I have mixed feelings about that. The murder mystery itself is also in
the background with this being much more about the time and what Henrietta has
to do to help her family and herself survive a tough world. I liked it well
enough but I do not know if I will read the next one.
I give this book a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for
my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.
No comments:
Post a Comment