The Case of the Missing Morris Dancer / Cathy Ace

The Case of the Missing Morris Dancer by Cathy Ace
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Well, I think I have experienced a strange change of heart. I have always loved the bleak, dark Scandinavian mysteries or detailed forensics. I always used to say that there better be a dramatic murder within the first few pages. I couldn't imagine being impressed with one of those cozy mysteries. Apparently I hadn't encountered the right series until this point.

Cathy Ace was to attend a writing conference in my city this August. Covid-19 has put paid to that, but the organizers assure us that it will happen in 2021. Fingers crossed, as I'm most interested to hear Ms. Ace's views on books and writing.

I'm really enjoying this team of women and their investigations. They're kind of the realistic version of the Athena Club that Theodora Goss created in The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter. They pass the Bechdel test in spades (although there's plenty of teasing and twitting about the men that the young single women run into during the course of their investigations).

This novel sees them searching for a missing person, not a murderer, which is a nice change. There are a lot of related questions which the women get satisfaction from fixing, as well as finding the missing. So its not too straight forward or easy to guess who dunnit. And it is also pleasurable to watch their lives progress. By the next book, Carol should have given birth while Annie and Christine should be happily involved in relationships. Mavis is already comfortably ensconced with the Dowager Duchess. Now that Duke Henry is married, perhaps he can find some happiness too.

I can't believe this, I'm already looking forward to the next cozy in this series!


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