Rachel McMillan

Uncommon Heroes...or Unsuspecting Victims? Toronto, 1914. Merinda Herringford and Jem Watts never could have imagined their crime-solving skills would set them up as emblems of female empowerment in a city preparing to enter World War I at the behest of Great Britain. Yet, despite their popularity, the lady detectives can't avoid the unrest infiltrating every level of society. A war measure adopted by Mayor Montague puts a target on Jem and her Italian husband, Ray DeLuca. Meanwhile, deep-rooted corruption in the police force causes their friend, Constable Jasper Forth, to wonder if his thirst for upholding the law would be best quenched elsewhere. In spite of these distractions, Merinda, Ray, and Jasper join with other honorable and courageous city leaders in the Cartier Club, which exists to provide newly arrived residents of Toronto with a seamless integration in the city. When a club member turns up dead, bearing a slanderous white feather, will Merinda, Jem, and those they hold dear be able to solve the high-stakes mystery before they're all picked off, one by one?

The White Feather Murders

A. D. Knapp

I won this novel from Goodreads Giveaways.

Not having read the first two entries in this series, take any criticisms that follow with a grain of salt as I may have missed something that would have cleared things up for me had I read them. With that out of the way, I have to say, I had a ton of fun reading this. From the great setting of a Toronto on the brink of entering WWI (and all the racism and gender discrimination that that entails), to the Sherlock Holmesian vibe throughout, this was just a fun, comfortable read. Even though I occasionally had the feeling that I'd missed out on some key elements of the characters not having read the earlier installments, I felt right at home most of the time. I think the wonderful little footnotes really helped in that regard and highlighted the little twinkle of humor that's sprinkled throughout the novel as well.

One of the more striking things I found about The White Feather Murders was how much author Rachel McMillan loves her characters and how hard to she works to make you love them, too. From our leads, the lady detective duo of Jem and Merinda, all the way down to our Baker Street Irregulars stand-ins, Kat and Mouse, each character is given a chance to shine.

I think my only real criticism lies with the ratio of plot given over to the domestic issues Jem faces compared to that given to the actual mystery of the white feather murders. Although I don't think any of Jem and Ray's relationship should have been excised as I think it worked well, maybe a couple more chapters with Merinda doing some sleuthing and a chapter here-and-there focusing on Kat's and Mouse's activities would have balanced things out a bit more for me. As this is the concluding entry in the series, I can understand why McMillan made the choices she did to get the characters to a satisfying place when the novel, and series, wrap up.

All-in-all, I found this to be an enjoyable read with a lot of heart and just enough humor. Recommended for anyone who enjoys a good mystery and for Sherlock Holmes fans in particular. Four stars.

The White Feather Murders

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