London, 1911. Coronation fever. Suffragette unrest. A city crackling with tension.
When a policeman is found brutally murdered on the streets of Kensington, blame falls on the three women seen fleeing the scene.
Their sole witness? Stephen Pike: ex-borstal boy, under-butler extraordinaire and assistant to the most unconventional detective in London, Miss Decima Stockingham. Sharp-tongued, fearless and bored of behaving herself, she’s the only one able to see that this case is not what it seems.
Aided by an invisible network of maids – their eyes and ears in every house in London – this unlikely duo must catch the killer before time runs out. But in a city dazzled by ceremony and divided by change, you never know what might be lurking in the shadows…
It’s impossible for me to start this review without declaring my undying devotion to Miss Decima Stockingham who intelligent, entitled, sweary and short-tempered. On meeting her long-suffering servant Stephen Pike, other servants from the apartments that line Kensington Gore commiserate that at least he isn’t indentured to the mad old cow in 89C. He doesn’t correct them because largely their only impression of this woman is her morning bellow for her egg and her propensity to fling books out of the window until it arrives:
“I was under the impression that boiling an egg was a quick job, but apparently you’re rearing the chicken by hand and fetching the water from fucking Spain.”
Underneath this exterior is a sharp-witted woman who doesn’t mind appearing contrary and rude if it gets her the results she needs or the information she’s seeking. This character is begging for a TV series and Olivia Coleman. Her foil is Stephen Pike, driven to distraction by her demands and her willingness to place him in dangerous situations. He’s equally comic, mainly physically, in one scene he’s lured to a union meeting at the pub which soon descends into an evening of rounds, a drunken football match, injury and a hefty hangover. He may seem ordinary to the untrained eye but Miss Decima can see a sharp intelligence, observational skill and an ability to put a pattern together that makes them a formidable team.
We meet them ten years after the Victorian era ended and the coronation of George V and Queen Mary is just around the corner. The suffragettes are ramping up their civil disobedience and taking direct action to gain the vote. The author uses this backdrop for a labyrinthine murder mystery and our mismatched pair are investigating. Historically, we can see all the signs of change that will come to England after WW1, the changes in class structure with working men wanting to form unions and enforce their employment rights. Women didn’t just want to vote but also to work, run their own finances and have rights to divorce. The Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Act of 1857 made divorce a civil matter but it didn’t treat men and women equally, seeing women as property. The suffragettes had very different factions within the wider movement, although Miss Decima claims to have no time for any of them, particularly those who take direct and destructive action. She believes that their antics play into the hands of men who say women are too emotional to vote. However, despite some snobbery about which class of woman should get the vote, she is a feminist. She explains women’s frustration with the status quo by pointing out the memorial statue for the Great Exhibition of 1851 to Stephen. It depicts Prince Albert held aloft by four female figures showing that women are relegated to the background.
“The world is stacked upon the unseen labours of women’.
The murder case is sensationally linked to the suffragette movement with three young campaigners, seen to leave the main march and head towards the south of Kensington Gore, situated near the Royal Albert Hall. Their intent seems to have been defacing a statue but all that’s left behind is a dead policeman and the women seem to have vanished. The police officer has had his throat cut from ear to ear and the gory details causes a sensation, as Miss Decima shrewdly observes female murder suspects are regarded more harshly than men. If they apply the theory of Occam’s Razor it’s an open and shut case but Miss Decima senses this plot is more Byzantine than first thought. Stephen is befuddled when she takes the case on, especially when she states her reasoning – ‘they’re clearly innocent.’ If found guilty the women’s actions could upset the suffrage cause for some time and have repercussions of international significance, maybe that’s worth killing for? On a more basic level she believes there is no way the woman could have physically managed to overpower and kill him. This is the case they have to prove and with her razor sharp logic, a small battalion of female investigators all called Ivy and Stephen’s ability to pick out obscure clues and patterns they will surely succeed.
There was nothing about this historical crime caper that I didn’t like. It is full of action, humour and incredible period detail. Miss Decima is a formidable woman and I could hear a definite Miriam Margoyles tone as she barks out her orders and insults: ‘put down the poker and stop being a twat’ being a favourite. The author perfectly captures the struggles and atrocities committed against women in the suffrage movement, especially by the police and prison service. Then in the next chapter we’re knee deep in the funniest union meeting I’ve encountered. Stephen is so endearing and the perfect foil for his employer. He can go where a more upper class woman can’t, although I’m sure she’d give it a good try. She knows that other servants and those lower down the class order are going to be more candid with someone of their own station. This mystery does have some links to the previous book but I didn’t have to read it to enjoy this one in its own right. The action sequence at the end, as all those old jigsaw pieces come together in Stephen’s mind is so well done I could see it all – Guy Ritchie’s directing style would be perfect for a film adaptation. Miss Decima is the closest thing to a female Sherlock Holmes I’ve read in a long time. With her three sets of teeth -“one for speaking, one for eating, one for shouting” – she’s a wonderful grotesque and an absolute joy to read. More please..
Out October 2026 from Penguin Books
Meet the Author
Ross Montgomery has worked as a pig farmer, a postman and a primary school teacher, so writing books was the next logical step. He spent his childhood reading everything he could get his hands on, from Jacqueline Wilson to Beano annuals, and it taught him pretty much everything that’s worth knowing. He has now written over twenty books for children, including THE MIDNIGHT GUARDIANS, which was shortlisted for the Costa Book Award 2021 and selected as one of The Guardian’s Children’s Books of the Year. He lives in London with his wife, a cat called Fun Bobby, and a cactus on every available surface.
