Jackie McMahon’s engaging new murder mystery came at me from an unexpected source: DC’s first romance bookstore.
Installment #13 in my series on the region’s independent bookshops.
One of the things I love about independent bookshops is that you’ll invariably find a staff member who knows and loves their specific collection of books. You can walk in clueless and, with the skillful guidance of staff, come out delighted that you found an insightful biography, a well-crafted novel, or an engaging and entertaining murder mystery.
Which is exactly what happened recently in my quest to visit all 30 of the DC region’s independent bookstores.
Truth be told, Friends to Lovers—the DC area’s only romance book store—wasn’t high on my list. I wasn’t sure I could find a work of real interest. Yet I explored their website before heading to Old Town in Alexandria on a beautiful summer day and found a few promising leads.
I shouldn’t have worried.
The sign and cozy storefront let me know that while the genre might be outside my normal choices, I was among fellow bibliophiles. On a Thursday morning the store was busy with three or four generations of readers checking out the selections. I looked through parts of the store, perused the helpful “staff picks” section, but was still getting my bearings amidst the unfamiliar titles and writers.
A friendly staff person saw my disorientation and walked over to see if she could be helpful.
I explained my independent bookstore project (“Oh, how fun!”) and then admitted that I didn’t read romance novels so I was worried about being able to find something I would feel good about purchasing. “Not to worry” said Andi, as she showed me the “Romance Adjacent” section to get me started. Then I mentioned I had seen a detective mystery offering on the website, and that might be a possibility.
“I have a great one for you,” she said. “It is brand new and the romance aspect is applied with a light touch.” Which is how I came to read a delightful murder mystery set in 1930s London featuring a club of successful mystery writers. I left Friends to Lovers Bookstore with great appreciation for Andi and all the hardworking staff at independent bookshops along with anticipation that led me to quickly jump into this new mystery.
The Cloak and Dagger Club (2026) by Jackie McMahon introduces us to the smart, up-and-coming detective heroine Lucy Hubbard. Her first mystery has been published to strong sales and glowing reviews and she finds herself swept up in the literary world of Britain’s best-known detective novelist, Horace Hazelmoor, President of The Cloak and Dagger Club. She attends her first meeting in the Marie Antoinette Suite at The Ritz Hotel and is dazzled by the assembled talent of the writers. However, when her former fiancé, Frank Murray—a rising star in Britain’s detective fiction scene—comes through the door with Horace she is slightly unnerved and works to keep their former relationship secret from the others. She also struggles to keep her feelings for Frank in check as the novel progresses.
Horace, who is bombastic and a bully, has too much to drink and quickly throws everyone off stride by starting an argument with one of the club members. A fight ensues and Horace is carried to his room at the hotel to sleep it off. Two days later, after the hotel staff has not heard from him, Horace is found dead, stabbed in the back. Frank, who was threatening to overtake Horace as Britain’s favorite crime writer, is the prime suspect. Lucy has convinced herself that she no longer has feelings for her childhood friend turned former lover, but she knows that he could never have killed Horace. Since who knows better how to unravel a crime than a mystery writer, she and Frank begin their own side investigation to find the real murderer.
McMahon’s debut novel introduces the reader to an intriguing cast of characters. Besides Horace, Frank, and Lucy we meet Graham, the former Scotland Yard detective turned mystery writer and his secretary Jonathan. The Countess Andrassy, whose husband is a drunkard and whose past is a bit cloudy. Christine Wong writes mysteries about a loveable vicar in a small English village, a subject that doesn’t appear to fit her personality. Sergeant Badgers provides Frank with tidbits about police work to help him make his books more realistic. The shifty Inspector Naughton seems to know Graham from his earlier life and cannot be trusted. Marcel Bettencourt is the faithful attendant of the club at the Ritz.
Each of them has a secret they don’t want the others to learn. The puzzle that is devised is clever, and McMahon’s writing is sharp and easy to digest. The romance aspect is very evident, yet lightly applied and fitting within the story. As in any good piece of detective fiction, the reader turns page after page, continuing to read late into the night.
Interspersed among the chapters are short snippets from the works of each of the members of the club. These both introduce us to the fictional detectives each writer has created and help the story progress. In one of these snippets—from Hazelmoor’s Carlyle Bragington’s series—Horace has his hero tell how one kills a powerful adversary.
“There’s only one way to kill the powerful, Sergeant.
A cloud of grey smoke trickled out of Bragington’s mouth and danced toward the ceiling, seductive like a lover. ‘When they don’t see it coming.'”
When I walked into Friends to Lovers, I’ll admit that I didn’t see a novel evoking the Golden Age of British mystery writing in my future. However, McMahon has created characters and a story we can enjoy, believe, and care about in spite of preconceived notions of what will interest us. The Cloak and Dagger Club is a worthy debut, and a fitting introduction to me not only of a talented writer, but of the unexpected joys of Friends to Lovers.
More to come . . .
DJB
Photo by Alexander Mils on Unsplash
MORE TO COME... 