It's 1898 and Harriet Morrow has just left her secretarial job to become the first female detective at the prestigious Prescott Agency. Her first assignment is something of a throwaway: go visit the boss's batty neighbor, who seems to have misplaced her maid (much like she did with the jewelry and silver that was later found exactly where it belonged). But when Harriet arrives, she discovers the maid's room in disarray, and after conversations with other employees and the maid's family, it's clear that the she is indeed missing. Harriet is given one week to track her down, and puts her fledgling investigation skills to the test in what feels like a fruitless search.
Harriet is a lesbian who is still getting comfortable with herself and her desire to wear men's clothing instead of the elaborate dresses popular at the time (which make riding her trusty bicycle much more difficult), and that, more than anything else, is the most compelling part of this book. I loved seeing her become herself, which helped when the plot lagged or felt repetitive (which happened a lot when discussing Harriet's parents' political activism for women's rights and unions). The one thing that really bugged me was that Harriet has a 16-year-old brother who goes to high school and doesn't have a job to help contribute to household expenses, which seems really strange and unlikely given their reduced means and the era in which this book is set. However, the book was decent, and I'd recommend it for fans of Jacqueline Winspear or Amy Stewart.
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