London Calling by Sara Sheridan was enjoyable, but not as much so as the first. I liked the mystery and the suspense that was more light than dark, but I also felt like the plot was weak overall and there were too many easy solutions. I don't believe I will be picking up the next book.

"In the years following World War II, former Secret Service employee Mirabelle Bevan has found a refuge in the quiet coastal town of Brighton. But she can’t seem to resist an attraction to danger and a thirst for justice...

1952: Eighteen-year-old debutante Rose Bellamy Gore was last seen outside a Soho jazz club in the company of a saxophone player named Lindon Claremont. Now her mysterious disappearance is front-page news in the London tabloids.

When Lindon turns up the next day in Brighton, desperately seeking help, Mirabelle counsels him to cooperate with the authorities. After the local police take the musician into custody and ship him off to Scotland Yard, Mirabelle and her best friend, Vesta Churchill, hop a train to London in search of the truth.

As they scour smoky jazz clubs searching for clues to the deb’s disappearance, they descend into a sinister underworld where the price of admission can be one’s life. Mirabelle will need to draw on her espionage skills to improvise her way out of a disappearing act of her own..."

Period crime solving? Yes please!

Thank you for the chance to review this book, however, unfortunately, I was unable to read and review this title before it was archived.

This is the second installment of the period mystery series featuring Mirabelle Bevan, former secret service agent. It picks up about a year after the events of the first book. Mirabelle and Vesta are going about their everyday lives, running the debt collection business, living social lives, etc. I actually liked that the book opened this way for these two characters. In the meantime, trouble is brewing which ultimately comes knocking on Mirabelle's door. During the case featured in this book, readers are brought into the world of jazz musicians and racial struggles in the 1950s. One thing I really wanted that the first book didn't deliver much for me was more insight on Vesta, Mirabelle's right hand girl. This missing piece is somewhat addressed in this second book , but I still feel like I really don't know who Vesta is as a person or what leads her to make certain choices. Mirabelle is still grieving over the loss of her lover, Jack, which had happened a few years previously. I found it annoying that the author kept bringing Jack up in as much detail as she did considering how long it had been. Overall, I didn't find this book as good as the first.

I hope there's going to be a third and a fourth and so on book in this really well done series. Mirabelle and Vesta are a dynamic duo for sure but what I really enjoyed (more than I expected) was the view of the UK in the 1950S. The jazz clubs make for a wonderful setting for the mystery, which isn't too twisty (but no spoilers because it actually surprised me in the end.). Both Mirabelle and Vesta are the epitome of intrepid women who aren't given their due. Mirabelle's back story is one which should automatically garner her respect but sadly, for so many women during this time period (and to honest others as well), her accomplishments and capabilities don't get the attention she deserves. This is a good read. Thanks to net galley for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for a review. Here is my review:

I really like Mirabelle!! These books are set in Brighton in the 1950s. Mirabelle worked for a super secret agency during WWII, learned a lot, saw a lot, lost a lot, and just wants an ordinary life now. In the first book, Brighton Belle, she is working for a collection agency and her boss gets involved in some shady deals and gets killed. So now, she is running the collection agency, with the help of Vesta Churchill, who was previously a secretary for an insurance agency in the same building.

One of Vesta's friends from London shows up unexpectedly and has a problem in London. Then the fun begins! We learn more about Mirabelle's former life as she reconnects with people in London.

I really hope there are more coming in this series!

While I enjoyed the first entry in this series, London Calling left me a bit flat. Mirabelle and her assistant Vesta are getting things done, which I appreciate, but the social issues seemed shoehorned in and I am a bit tired of Mirabelle's general malaise. I'll pick up the third entry but I need this to get a bit more snappy and quick.

This tough English female detective reminds me of Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs. The main characters are likeable. Unfortunately the secondary characters, not so much. The ending was the biggest disappointment. It came out of no where. If there was a first book that explained Mirabelle Bevan's work beyond debt collection, I think the relationship should have been referenced. Nevertheless, I can't wait for the next episode.

A cozy-crime book set in London, in the 50's, with a super smart and likable heroine, this book was a good read. I would read this author again, happily! It is reminiscent of what is now called "vintage" murder mysteries that I throughly enjoyed as a child. I am looking forward to more books in this series if at all possible. I'm glad I have found this author's books.

My copy came from Net Galley. My thoughts and opinions are my own. This review is left of my own free volition.

I enjoyed this book. It was a light-hearted mystery. There was suspense but it wasn't dark. The main characters are Mirabelle and Vesta. They run a debt collection agency but tend to get involved in a lot more than collecting debts. There was a little romance but it definitely wasn't the main focus. This book was a quick read and the storyline made you glad of that. I would recommend the book and the author to family and friends. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy.

A very well thought out and written book. I love the Mirabelle Bevan mysteries! The main character, Mirabelle and her side kick Vesta Churchill are drawn into another mystery when Vesta's childhood friend Lindon Claremont shows up at their debt relief office, soaking wet and scared. When Lindon winds up dead in Scotland Yard, Mirabelle feels a strong responsibility since it was her who encouraged him to give his statement.
Mirabelle must find out what happened to help Vesta move on. Mirabelle is spunky and clever. And Vesta is observant and diligent. The pair make a great team.

Enjoyed this mystery filled w/ many twists and turns. A fun/easy read.

Never in my life have I been SO HAPPY to be a ebook hoarder! I discovered the Mirabelle Bevan mysteries but could only find the first one. Lo and behold, London Calling was an answer to my reading prayers!
And, like Brighton Belle, this has a snappy plot with intriguing characters. Ms Sheridan gets the character of post-war England so correct that you can almost smell the tea and bacon butties! LOVED the book!

It’s 1952 and Mirabelle Bevan has made a career as a collection’s agent along with her best friend Vesta. It is a turbulent era, and although Britain is better than the US, life still isn’t easy for a person of color. When an 18 year old debutante disappears after visiting a jazz club, suspicion falls on one of Vesta’s cousins, a saxophone player. His color and his profession immediately make him guilty in the eyes of the police, and it doesn’t help that the witnesses are lying. Mirabelle starts looking into things when it becomes clear that Scotland Yard has no intention of looking further. As she digs into the smoky realm of underground jazz clubs, she discovers links to contacts she knew from the Secret Service. What was Rose Bellamy Gore and her cousin involved in? Why are the Secret Service involved? When Lindon Claremont dies in jail, Mirabelle knows that she must find the truth.

Sara Sheridan does an excellent job breathing life into her characters. Mirabelle is a strong, vibrant woman, confident in her abilities. Vesta is feisty, proud of her heritage and unwilling to accept the restrictions society places on women of color. The two make a great team.

I really enjoyed London Calling with its strong female leads and vibrant depiction of the Post WWII jazz scene.

5 / 5

I received a copy of London Calling from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

-- Crittermom

I can't help but enjoy the Mirabelle Bevan series. I feel like she is part Agent Carter, part Nancy Drew, and I find it all makes a fun read.

In this latest installment, Mirabelle and her associate Vesta find themselves in a little over their heads when they come to the aid of Lindon Claremont, a saxophone player who happens to be Vesta's childhood friend. Lindon comes to Vesta for help when he finds himself being sought for questioning regarding the disappearance of debutante Rose Bellamy Gore. Mirabelle quickly determines that there is something amiss and goes to London to investigate.

Mirabelle's adventures make for a fun read and I enjoyed this trip back in time to the London and the jazz clubs as Mirabelle searched for answers.

I received this book courtesy of Kensington Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A tale of post war London still in the grip of austerity with food shortages and ration books where the rich and privileged enjoy a life that is beyond the reach of common people. A seemingly simple event occurs of a missing girl involving a Black jazz musician who gets arrested on suspicion of murder. He being a childhood friend of Mirabelle’s Black female assistant results in the two ladies setting out to investigate the strange circumstances of the events that leading to the girls’ disappearance. This leads to a most interesting insight into the culture and impact of the newly arrived Jamaican immigrants. Nothing is what it seems and corruption and skulduggery in high places is exposed when matters are finally brought to a conclusion. A most interesting and engrossing read.

If you read my review for the first book in the Mirabelle Bevan mystery series, Brighton Belle, you'll know that I liked it, even if I didn't love it. I hoped this second book would build on the characters with a fantastic story and help me get excited for Mirabelle's future adventures.

Unfortunately, I was disappointed. The plot was weak and I didn't really care what happened as the story progressed. There were too many happy coincidences, and for a mystery, felt dry and flat. One-dimensional, if you will.

The characters were too simple as well. I hoped that Mirabelle's character would become more developed, but instead she did stupid things (like breaking into people's homes) for seemingly no reason (though she is supposedly an intelligent person). The supporting characters didn't do much to help with that. They were contradictory, not at all consistent in what they did.

Overall, I am going to give this one 2 out of 5 stars. Alas, I think it will be my last Mirabelle Bevan novel.

London Calling is the second novel in the Mirabelle Bevan mystery series. This story takes place some months after the first one. Mirabelle has partnered with Vesta Churchill and they have taken over McGuigan & McGuigan Debt Recovery. On one particular rainy morning as Mirabelle approaches their office, she finds Vesta's friend, young London jazz player Lindon Claremont, waiting on the doorstep seeking Vesta's help.

Lindon was told by his club's bouncer that the police are seeking him. It seems he was the last one seen with young socialite Rose Bellamy Gore, who has disappeared. In talking with Mirabelle and Vesta, the ladies convince Lindon that he should turn himself in to give his statement. When he does, he finds himself in the custody of the London police and within the next 24 hours he is dead.

Mirabelle and Vesta are drawn to London to unearth what has happened to Lindon. Mirabelle draws in former colleague, Eddie Brandon, still working at high levels in British intelligence.

Mirabelle digs into the Jazz underworld to learn more about what really happened on the night of Rose's disappearance. In doing so, she finds out about the Jazz movement, what happens on Chadwell Street, and uncovers plots so deep it takes high ranking officials down.

The second book in the series is different but very equal to the first. I do recommend this book,

Once again Mirabelle Bevan gets the job done and good triumphs over evil. And Ms. Sheridan keeps the interest level high, causing the reader to get lost in London's 1950's jazz district.

I do love a period mystery, with all the tropes of the eccentric amateur detective but Mirabelle Bevan just does not work for me. Unfortunately the main problem is the quality of the writing, it is very sophmoric and is completely overloaded with unnecessary descriptive detail and tortured syntax.
The 1950s setting would have been better served if Sheridan had focused less on irrelevant period props and more on catching jarringly out-of-place turns off phrase and clarifying historical details.

The characters were really just cyphers lifted from other work in the genre. More than once I was reminded of Philip Pullman's Sally Lockhart stories, but the comparison was not favorable. The plot was increasingly ridiculous and the motivation behind the political machinations was tacked crudely and unnecessarily to end, as if these elements had not been properly prepared until it was too late.

With a dash of humour or a more tongue-in-cheek tone it might have been and enjoyable, if very silly, adventure but it wants to be taken far more seriously than it deserves. In the end it reads like a fond homage to the Golden Age classics of Christie, Sayers and Marsh and nothing about the writing has the strength lift it beyond enthusiastic but flawed pastiche.