THE MEINIR DAVIES CASEBOOK

Gracia introduces a new fictional Victorian sleuth in this collection of short detective stories.

Arthur Conan Doyle gave Sherlock Holmes his Watson to write up his cases and publish them in magazines. Similarly, Gracia uses Charles Booth, who runs a “social investigator” agency, to record the adventures of 30-something private investigator Meinir “May” Davies. Unlike Holmes, Meinir is recently retired, having been employed by the Clyde Montagu detective agency. She’s a bit short of funds, so when London Police Constable Dafydd Jones asks for her help in locating a missing mother, Meinir jumps back into the game through Charles’ agency for one more case. After satisfactorily bringing the affair to a close, she leaves detecting behind once again and accepts a position as a housemistress at a girls’ boarding school. However, intrigue appears to follow Meinir wherever she goes; before long, she’s pulled into another case, this time involving diamond earrings stolen from a student’s dorm room. Meinir consults with Holmes himself as she ponders what elements the distressed young lady might have left out of her story. The mysteries just keep coming, and at another point, she interacts with Dorcas Dene, a detective created by author George Robert Sims. Gracia is an able and clever storyteller, effectively emulating the highly stylized linguistic constructions of Victorian scribes. The book’s 12 mysteries range from simple thefts and abductions to scandalous behavior among the wealthy and powerful, giving Gracia ample opportunity to detail a plethora of late-19th-century societal issues. The narratives proceed at a languid pace, with only occasional high drama, and the mysteries themselves aren’t overly taxing puzzles. Delightfully witty dialogue and arch commentary propel the stories steadily forward, however. In a bold move, Gracia’s final story offers a twist on one of Conan Doyle’s original Holmes tales, “The Adventure of the Red Circle.”

An engaging assortment of light, engaging, quick-read cozy mysteries.