Alan Gordon-”An Excellent Thing In A Woman”
Dear Reader,
I’m Allison Montclair. Actually, I’m Alan Gordon, but for the last several years, I have been writing the Sparks and Bainbridge mystery series under that name, with “An Excellent Thing In A Woman” being my latest novel. When I was young and foolish, I wanted to write the Great American Novel, but I thought, “Write a mystery novel first. They’re easy.”
Reader, they’re not.
My current series came about when my editor suggested over lunch that I look into an actual marriage bureau set up by two women in London in the late 1930’s, thinking that it would be a good setting for a mystery. By the time I got home, Iris Sparks and Gwen Bainbridge were chattering away in my head, and they haven’t stopped talking since.
I moved the period to post-WWII London because I found those times of recovery and reinvention fascinating. I also wanted to look at women dealing with wartime trauma because that had been addressed much less than the trope of men coming back from the war. This allowed me to jump into such fruitful topics as rationing, the black market, the onset of the Cold War, the marriage of Princess Elizabeth, and early television.
THE RIGHT SORT OF MAN began the series, becoming the ALA Readers List Council Best Mystery Book of 2019. The rest have regularly made various best mystery lists, including the DorothyL Favorite Mystery of 2024 for MURDER AT THE WHITE PALACE. In AN EXCELLENT THING IN A WOMAN, BBC-TV is putting together a variety show, and a can-can dancer walks into The Right Sort Marriage Bureau demanding that they find her a husband in one week. They accept the challenge, but then she is found garroted at the studios and their friend, Sally, becomes the main suspect. The ladies are off once again.
I hope you enjoy reading this series as much as I did writing it!
–Alan Gordon
BIO:
Allison Montclair writes the Sparks and Bainbridge mysteries, seven books strong with more coming. As Alan Gordon, the author of the Fools’ Guild mysteries and a darn good werewolf book, as well as numerous short stories and several musicals. He’s a former NYC public defender and one-time Whippany, NJ native.
Follow Alan At:
http://www.alan-gordon.com/