No Job for a Lady: Series 1 [DVD]

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No Life for a Lady is full of deliciously complex characters who, at first glance, seem typically two-dimensional, as can sometimes be the case when reading cozies. However, the author, Hannah Dolby, masterfully pulls the reader in by expertly layering her story so you cannot help but want to read more. This is a wonderful, wonderfully-written novel. It's lighthearted but clever. Set in 1896 but with a sassy heroine with a modern style. It feels neither old-fashioned nor anachronistic. There's something of the Zuleika Dobson about Violet, but the real charm of this novel is in the story, plot, pacing and dialogue. It's funny and deceptively light.

Pyramids, dark magic, and dead bodies are what the intrepid Nellie encounters when she takes off for Mexico after her editor refuses to let her work as a foreign correspondent because "it's no job for a lady." This was such a fun read! If you like Miss Marple and Enola Holmes, Viola will be a character you will enjoy. Her innocence and naïveté as a young 28 year old woman who hasn’t received any guidance from her mother is highlighted throughout and Dolby uses this to bring about some hilarious and touching moments in the story.Together, will they discover the truth of what happened to Violet's mother? Or will there be far more at stake than Violet ever imagined? We meet 28-yr-old Violet Hamilton in Victorian Hastings, ten years after the disappearance of her mother. A chance sighting of a newspaper advertisement for a new detective in town leads Violet to hire him in the hopes of finding out what happened to her mother. This was such a fun read! The book started off quite slow and did take me quite a few chapters to really get into, but once I was half way through and the mystery finally started to unravel, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The year is 1896 and Violet, aged 28 is now past her marriage age and she’s determined never to marry. Violet’s mother went missing ten years ago, and she sets out to find out what happened to her. Her father is against her search, but Violet is a spirited young woman and she’s determined to do the search herself.

Violet Hamilton is a woman who knows her own mind. Which, in 1896, can make things a little complicated...It took me a little while to get in to the story but I was instantly charmed by the characters and descriptions of Victorian Hastings. I found myself drawn further into the plot as the book progressed, becoming invested in Violet’s life and in discovering what had happened to her mother. In 1896 a young woman is expected to marry young, behave like a lady, and pursue interests such as charitable work. An unmarried woman of 28 is considered a spinster, unlikely to ever marry, and certainly not expected to work. Especially as a detective. But Violet is not your average Victorian woman.

Its 1896 and Violets mum disappeared ten years ago and Violet now has the opportunity to hire a private detective to find her.. but it’s not going the way she has envisioned. The Violet / Benjamin story is so heart-warming to read and adds such a lovely dimension to No Life for a Lady.Hannah Dolby has crafted an utter joy of a read. I read this book in one (yes, one!) sitting because I had so much enjoyment and pleasure from the story that my afternoon flew by in the blink of an eye. Hiring a detective, Frank Knight, Violet soon discovers her mother was more than she could ever have imagined. But Frank gives her the creeps and she tries to sever the arrangement, with no success. We meet Jean Price MP in her early days in office having earned her place in the Commons courtesy of winning a bi-election by a majority of 507. Little seems to have prepared her for the challenges of balancing the life of an opposition MP with a home life while at the same time battling the sneering of the government’s MPs and the sexism of operations within the House, despite this still being the time of Margaret Thatcher’s reign. Thank goodness I was able to make safe and comfortable arrangements for her stay; otherwise, I would never have gone on.

Violet is a paradox, a product of her time and upbringing. In some regards, she is rigid by even the day's standards, valuing propriety and primness. In other ways, our protagonist steamrolls over societal norms. It's captivating to watch her character growth as she finds her voice. The narrative is so well done, as well. There's plenty of misdirection, but like any well-written mystery, it allows the reader to play detective, giving clues along the way. While I have many thoughts on this book (and all of them good), in an effort not to give away the plot, all I will say is I highly recommend this book.

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But life is not so simple for a woman in the late 1890s. Society dictates much of the expectations of how one should conduct oneself, and so Violet finds herself trapped between conforming to those expectations, and her own wishes and desires. And of course, the disappearance of her mother is always on her mind.